Getty Parker Hesse No. 46 of the Atlanta Falcons celebrates with MyCole Pruitt No. 85 of the Atlanta Falcons.
The Atlanta Falcons made some transactions on Tuesday, October 18.
Not only did the team send cornerback Casey Hayward to the injured reserve, but they also signed tight end MyCole Pruitt from the practice squad to the active roster.
Falcons put CB Casey Hayward on IR, sign TE MyCole Pruitt.
With top tight end Kyle Pitts dealing with a hamstring injury, Pruitt had been elevated twice this season. The first was in Week 5 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and again in Week 6 against the San Francisco 49ers.
Pruitt showed off his blocking in both games but really put his name on the radar after catching a touchdown pass in the Falcons’ 28-14 win over the Niners.
Pruitt Joined the Falcons in August
Pruitt, 30, initially entered the league as a fifth-round (143th overall) selection by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2015 NFL Draft.
He made some promising plays during his first campaign, but not enough for Minnesota to keep him on the active roster for the length of his rookie contract. Following his release, Pruitt was picked up by the Chicago Bears off of the Vikings’ practice squad.
After a short stint in Chicago, he made stops at the Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans.
His first stint with the Titans in 2018 after tight end Delanie Walker suffered a season-ending ankle injury. Pruitt logged his first NFL touchdown that year and stayed in Tennessee for two more seasons.
The veteran spent last offseason with the 49ers before rejoining the Titans for a second stint. In Week 17 of the 2021 season, Pruitt suffered a right ankle fracture, which required season-ending surgery. He finished the year logging a career-high 14 catches for 145 yards and three touchdowns through 16 games and nine starts.
He came to Atlanta this past August as no stranger to head coach Arthur Smith after playing under his offense in Tennessee. He also has ties to Falcons’ senior personnel executive Ryan Pace, who was the Bears’ GM during Pruitt’s brief stop in Chicago in 2016.
Pruitt also reunited with former Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota, tight ends Anthony Firkser and Parker Hesse, and wide receiver Cameron Batson.
Pitts Still Dealing With Hamstring Injury
With Pitts still dealing with a hamstring injury, pumping up Pruitt makes to most sense for Atlanta.
The club held Pitts to limited snaps (33) on Sunday due to his injury. Parker Hesse took over most of the workload with 41 snaps while Pruitt played 16 of the snaps.
At 3-3, the Falcons can’t afford to lose many more starters if they want a shot at a playoff run, so keeping them limited or sidelined for a game or two is better than not having them at all.
Falcons HC Arthur Smith said TE Kyle Pitts’ usage Sunday (57 percent — 33 snaps) was in part due to him coming off of injury, in part due to game plan.
Meanwhile, with Hayward sidelined for at least the next four games, Darren Hall will be expected to step up in his place opposite to A.J. Terrell.
Hall, a second-year cornerback, had a pair of pass deflections in Week 6 on 49ers’ wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.
Terrell did leave Sunday’s game early with a thigh injury, but Smith made it clear that Hayward was the only one with a concerning injury from that game.