Falcons sign CB Breon Borders, release CB Jamal Peters

The Falcons love to collect cornerbacks. “Gotta catch ‘em all,” Terry Fontenot may have said out loud at some point about the position. I’m not privy to those conversations, but it feels right.

Today’s move at corner brings a 2017 undrafted free agent with 32 NFL games under his belt to Atlanta, with a Canadian Football League import heading out in a corresponding move. The shuffle will, if recent history is our guide, not end with the signing of Breon Borders.

Borders had a pair of stints in Tennessee along with stops in Buffalo, Jacksonville, Washington, Arizona, and Chicago, and did solid work as a fill-in starter for five games with the Titans back in 2020. He was something of a ballhawk in college at Duke, which fits what the Falcons have been looking for from their defensive backs, and is just 27 years old with solid size and speed for the position. Borders will try to hold his own in a still-crowded cornerback group this summer and at least latch on to a practice squad spot, so give him a warm welcome and we’ll see if he can hit the ground running.

Peters is a little bit of a surprise cut. A tall corner who led the CFL in interceptions a year ago, Peters was hoping to follow in the footsteps of 2022 CFL cornerback signing Dee Alford and push his way onto the roster. Instead, he’ll be looking for a new team after a few months in Atlanta. We wish him well wherever he lands next, but there should be another NFL team looking at his height, physicality, and ability to create turnovers and taking a shot.

With starters A.J. Terrell and Jeff Okudah locked in and Mike Hughes, Dee Alford, and rookie Clark Phillips all figuring to make strong pushes for the roster, there will be a heated competition for a final spots (and any practice squad landing spots) among Borders, Darren Hall, Tre Flowers, and Cornell Armstrong. Cornerback is definitely one of the many position battles you should plan to watch closely this summer.