Falcons Sign Former Colts Guard: Report

Matt Gono

Getty Guard Matt Gono #73 of the Atlanta Falcons.

The Atlanta Falcons are not done perfecting their roster for the 2021 season and added offensive lineman Sam Jones on Thursday.

Jones, a former Indianapolis Colts center/guard, was waived from the team on Wednesday, so it didn’t take long to find his fourth home in the NFL.

The former 2018 6th round pick of the Denver Broncos will come to Atlanta this offseason where he will compete against Matt Hennessey and 2021 fourth-round pick Drew Dalman.

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Jones’ NFL Resume

Jones, 6-5, 290 pounds, has bounced around the league a few times and has only seen the playing field five times since entering the league.

He was originally signed to the Colts practice squad in December of 2020. Before that, he spent the 2020 offseason at the Arizona Cardinals training camp and the entire 2019 season on the Cards’ practice squad.

Jones spent his collegiate career at Arizona State where he passed on his final year of eligibility and entered the draft. As a Sun Devil, Jones started 25-of-32 games as a guard from 2014-17 and was an Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 Conference choice following the 2017 season.

According to Bleacher Report’s scouting report on the ASU product prior to the 2018 draft, suggest a year or two on a practice squad would benefit Jones before making it as a rotational steady piece on the active roster.

Jones is on his fourth year, so hopefully, he can compete his way back up to the 53-man roster.

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Arthur Smith is Heavy on Competition

When Arthur Smith first came to Atlanta he made it clear he was high on competition at every position.

Along the offensive line, the Falcons currently have the left tackle, right tackle, and right guard positions filled with their starts. The only positions currently lacking reliable starters are at the center and left guard positions.

Falcons’ new offensive line coach, Dwayne Ledford, addressed the media last week and listed the players who will compete for those spots.

At left guard, the competition will look like, Jalen Mayfield, Drew Dalman, Matt Gono, and Josh Andrews.

At the center position, Matt Hennessy and Dalman will battle it out for the starting spot. Hennessey filled in for Alex Mack as a starter in two games last season. The rookie, Dalman, started 22 games at center during his time at Stanford.

“A lot of guys will be rolling around in a lot of different positions,” Ledford told reporters. “We’ll be trying a lot of different pieces at different times and throughout our evaluations, this offseason going through camp, then it will be determined who those five will be.”

Ledford joins the Falcons after being Louisville’s offensive coordinator/offensive line coach from 2019-20. Before becoming a coach, Ledford played seven years in the NFL.

As for Jones, he likely won’t get a starting job this year, but he will add some necessary depth on the Falcons offensive line if he can compete in camp.

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