Getty Isaiah Oliver #26 of the Atlanta Falcons.
The Atlanta Falcons made a handful of roster moves on Tuesday, Oct. 5.
The team officially signed punter Dustin Colquitt and defensive lineman Mike Pennel off of their practice squad after sending cornerback Isaiah Oliver and punter Cam Nizialek to the injured reserve.
To fill their two vacant spots on the practice squad, the team signed placekicker Elliot Fry (again) and safety Shawn Williams.
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Oliver Is a Big Loss For Atlanta
Oliver was on the rise this season at nickel back, so Atlanta’s struggling defense is taking a big hit there. The former 2018 second-round pick started three of the first four games so far this season and had 11 tackles, a forced fumble, along with a fumble recovery.
It’s a sad story for Oliver who didn’t really burst onto the scene until Atlanta switched him from outside corner to inside.
“You always play for a ‘why’ and him going down like that – we worked hard together all offseason, so he’s someone I’ll be playing for the rest of the year,” Falcons’ linebacker Foye Oluokun said, via Tori McElhaney of AtlantaFalcons.com. “It was tough to see him go down.” It looks like taking over the nickel job will be rookie Avery Williams.
The Falcons signed Colquitt to the practice squad last month and he will come in handy after Nizialek injured his hamstring in the Falcons’ loss to Washington in Week 4. Colquitt ended a 15-year run with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020 and spent last season is split n Jacksonville and Pittsburgh.
As for Pennel, he spent the offseason with the Chicago Bears but signed Falcons’ practice squad after being released from the injured reserve list. In 2020, Pennel had 29 tackles in 14 games with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Falcons Head to London
The Falcons’ Week 5 depth chart looks a little different this week as they host the New York Jets “across the pond.”
OFFENSE
WR – Calvin Ridley, Tajae Sharpe or Christian Blake
TE – Kyle Pitts, Lee Smith
LT – Jake Matthews, Jason Spriggs
LG – Jaylen Mayfield, Drew Dalman, Colby Gossett, Josh Andrews
C – Matt Hennessy, Drew Dalman
RG – Chris Lindstrom, Drew Dalman
RT – Kaleb McGary, Jason Spriggs
TE – Hayden Hurst, Keith Smith, Parker Hesse, Feleipe Franks
WR – Russell Gage, Olamide Zaccheaus, Frank Darby
RB – Mike Davis, Cordarrelle Patterson, Wayne Gallman
*FB — Keith Smith, Cordarrelle Patterson
QB – Matt Ryan, Josh Rosen, Feleipe Franks
DEFENSE
DL – Grady Jarrett, Marlon Davidson
NT – Tyeler Davison, Ta’Quon Graham
DL – Jonathan Bullard, Mike Pennel, John Cominsky
OLB – Steven Means, Jacob Tuioti-Mariner or Brandon Copeland
ILB – Deion Jones, Mykal Walker
ILB – Foyesade Oluokun, Dorian Etheridge
OLB – Dante Fowler, Adetokunbo Ogundeji
LCB – A.J. Terrell, T.J. Green, Darren Hall
FS – Erik Harris, Jaylinn Hawkins
SS – Duron Harmon, Richie Grant
RCB – Fabian Moreau, Avery Williams, Kendall Sheffield
SPECIAL TEAMS
K – Younghoe Koo
P – Dustin Colquitt
LS – Josh Harris
H – Dustin Colquitt
PR – Avery Williams
KOR – Cordarrelle Patterson