Falcons shuffle practice squad and add Zach Harrison, Khalid Kareem

The Atlanta Falcons seemed to be taking a major gamble by waiving Zach Harrison, a talented player who has dealt with injuries over the last couple of years but has been consistently effective on the field. That gamble went well, though, as Harrison was not claimed and the Falcons were able to add him back to the practice squad.

Harrison joins safety Jammie Robinson, who was waived yesterday from the active roster as well, and familiar face Khalid Kareem on the practice squad. To make room on the practice squad, the Falcons let go of cornerback Cobee Bryant and defensive end Cam Sample; we may see both of them again. Defensive back Natrone Brooks, who was also waived yesterday, appears to be on the open market for the moment.

I’d expect the practice squad to continue to evolve, so there’s no point in pretending any of this is set in stone. Harrison is depth and, based on his history of both quality run defense and solid pass rush production, could be flexed to the roster early on with the team going a little light in terms of raw numbers up front. Ditto Kareem, who has been a quality rotational piece in the six games he’s appeared in for Atlanta over the past two seasons. Robinson is a quality special teamer who looked good at safety this summer, and should be in the mix for a call-up at some point this year.

Sample had a solid summer but may not have made enough of an impact to come back soon; I’d expect him to be on the team’s shortlist if they have injuries in the coming weeks. Bryant is a player the Falcons appear to like as a developmental option, so it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him back on the practice squad or roster as the Falcons continue to shuffle. Ditto Brooks, who contributes on special teams and has cross-trained at safety after spending the past couple seasons at cornerback, giving him versatility that should get him another look from Atlanta if another team doesn’t snap him up soon.

It’s good to have Harrison, Kareem, and Robinson back, and we’ll see if everyone else returns in the near future. I wouldn’t expect the practice squad, which is finally at a full 16 players, to stay static between now and Week 1.