The Atlanta Falcons have released veteran offensive lineman John Wetzel on Monday, ProFootballTalk first reported.
Falcons release John Wetzel
Wetzel signed a one-year contract with Altlanta last April. The Falcons later released him during training camp before the regular season. However, when rookie guard Chris Lindstrom broke his foot, the Falcons decided to re-signed Wetzel in early September. Wetzel appeared in just games with the Falcons during the 2019 season and was up and down from the active roster. He played a total of 18 snaps at left guard.
Wetzel’s NFL Career Timeline
28-year-old Wetzel played college football at Boston College.
In April of 2013, Wetzel signed as an undrafted free agent by the Oakland Raiders. He was hurt in August and put on the injured reserve list and by October he was waived from the team with an injury settlement.
By November 2013, Wetzel was signed by the Dallas Cowboys to the practice squad. He signed multiple reserve/future contracts with them up until 2015. He did not play a game as a Cowboy.
He spent less than a month with the Indianapolis Colts practice squad from November to December of 2015.
He was quickly picked up by the Arizona Cardinals practice squad and after a month, he signed a future/reserve contract with them. When left tackle, Jared Veldeer was injured in the 2016 season, the Cards started Wetzel. He ended up starting another 11 games after D.J. Humphries’ injury and signed a one-year deal. He played in a total of 40 games as a Cardinal and made 24 starts. After almost three years with the Cardinals, Wetzel was placed on injured reserve with a neck injury.
Wetzel at 6-foot-7 and 328 pounds is known as a versatile lineman, playing both guard and tackle for the Cardinals.
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A Team to Watch
Everything has come down to the Falcons salary cap and it seems they aren’t afraid to even let the good ones go to save money for a fresh roster.
The Falcons are expected to be an NFC South Division team to watch this season after this roster change.
Falcons running back, Devonta Freeman is also expected to be let go. Meanwhile, star tight end Austin Hooper, defensive lineman De’Vondre Campbell, and guard Wes Schweitzer have all been set free to look at other options in free agency before coming to a decision to return to Atlanta.
Atlanta is basically building a roster around their prized possession, Matt Ryan before his NFL career comes to an end.
And after going 7-9 this past season, the Falcons are in need of improving their roster by letting go of the vets and adding more versatile rookies to the fire.
O-Lineman Prospects
The Falcons spent two first-round picks on offensive linemen last year, so that won’t be the case this year. However, they did meet up with seven possible o-line prospects at the NFL Combine last week.
- Austin Jackson, Southern Cal. – Planned formal
- Calvin Throckmorton, Oregon – Informal
- Jedrick Wills, Alabama – Informal
- Jon Runyan, Michigan – Informal
- Jonah Jackson, Ohio State – Informal
- Logan Stenberg, Kentucky – Informal
- Solomon Kindley, UGA – Informal
The Falcons seem to really have loved Solomon Kindley and he is all on board if he’s chosen.
READ NEXT: Falcons on Track With Drafting Versatile Players
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Falcons Part Ways With Veteran Offensive Lineman