What’s next for the Falcons: Roster cuts and the Jets

Atlanta’s done with their first preseason game, and it’s also their first preseason win in a while. We got to be encouraged by the quarterback play for the most part, concerned about the offensive line in particular, and awaiting more game action to help us figure out what this team is going to be.

We’re kicking off a new week, so I thought it might be useful to orient ourselves. Here’s what’s next for the 2022 Atlanta Falcons.

Roster cuts due in on Tuesday

This is the deeply unpleasant part of August. Players who are cut now are, at the very least, seeing their dreams hit a bumpy road, and some may never get to play in the NFL again. It’s not a time for celebration.

It is, alas, inevitable. The Falcons have to cut down to an 85 man roster by Tuesday afternoon, which means at least five players are headed elsewhere in the near future. I say “at least” because the team now has a game to evaluate and may decide to cut deeper in order to pick up a free agent or two if they didn’t love what they saw. By and large this was a solid game for the Falcons, though, so I don’t expect these to be incredibly easy decisions.

The Jets on Monday night

We have just about a week until the next actual Falcons game, and unsurprisingly we’ll spend much of this week previewing the matchup and taking a closer look at what to expect from Falcons - Jets.

One thing you aren’t likely to see: Zach Wilson at quarterback. After narrowly avoiding what sure looked like a more significant injury at first glance, Wilson is on the shelf for 2-4 weeks with a meniscus tear and bone bruise. That means if the Falcons defense scuffles against New York it’s going to be a very major concern, because the Jets are going to be trotting out Joe Flacco, Mike White, and and Chris “The Reveler” Streveler on Monday night.

For their part, Atlanta’s unlikely to roll out Drake London out of simple caution at the very least, given that they had a major injury scare of their own with their prized rookie receiver. Otherwise, we’ll be hoping see the Falcons’ full roster.