The News, Now

Key developments on the field and roster move analysis

The biggest news of the week continued to be that of the Falcons kicking situation. After Parker Romo went 5-for-5 on Sunday Night Football in Week 2, the Falcons made the decision to move forward with him as the team’s starting kicker in Week 3.

“We’re going to go with Romo,” Raheem Morris said Friday. “He earned it last week going 5-for-5, and you gotta go with that again.”

Later that day, the Falcons announced the release of Younghoe Koo, simultaneously signing Romo to the active roster. Koo’s time with Atlanta ends with 89 games played and 700 points scored for the organization, which is the third-most in franchise history.

Offensively, the Falcons had 69 total rushing yards in their Week 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They averaged 2.5 yards per carry. And members of the Atlanta run game — from coaches, to linemen, to tight ends, to running backs — had a point to prove about who they are and what they do during Sunday night’s win over the Minnesota Vikings.

They did just that. Proving their point to the tune of 218 rushing yards and 5.6 yards per carry in the prime-time win. This week’s film study explored how the Falcons did so and what tweaks they made to see more success. Well, that, and Bijan Robinson continues to be one of the league’s flashiest and most productive players.

“He is who everybody says he is,” Michael Penix Jr. said. “I feel like he’s the best running back in this league, and he shows it each and every day.”

The main injury news coming out of the Falcons’ camp this week had to do with A.J. Terrell. The Falcons starting corner left Sunday night’s game with a hamstring injury right before halftime. He did not return to the game and head coach Raheem Morris said the Falcons are considering him “week-to-week,” not day-to-day. It’s been an open competition this week to see who will slot in for him this Sunday in Charlotte.

“(Dee Alford) got a chance to finish it for us,” Morris said. “He did a nice job, had a knockdown pass and some really good tackles.

“… We want to have those guys go out there and compete at a very high level this week in order to figure out who gets the best opportunity. But I always want to make it as defined as I can, right? We got Clark coming off the (rib) injury he had in the preseason, trying to get back into the mix; great opportunity for him. Obviously, we picked up C.J. Henderson. Obviously, we have our Swiss Army knife in Natrone Brooks, playing safety, playing nickel, playing outside. So, all of those guys have an opportunity to go compete for helmets, compete to get on the grass to help us win. It is something that we look forward to doing.”

You can view all three Falcons injury reports below:

Wednesday, Sept. 17: James Pearce Jr., Charlie Woerner held out as Week 3 practices begin

Thursday, Sept. 18: Kyle Pitts added to injury report with toe issue

Friday, Sept. 19: A.J. Terrell officially ruled out with hamstring injury

How did the rest of the league fair in Week 2? Tori McElhaney breaks it down in her weekly power rankings, while Will McFadden highlights the NFC South’s performance.

Plus, check out this week’s mailbags where Tori and Will answer your burning questions about the state of the Falcons.

Falcons Mailbag, No 1 via Tori McElhaney: Is the defense’s hot start sustainable? Is the quarterback carousel starting back up again? And are opponent’s defensive decisions to counter Michael Penix Jr.’s strengths affecting Atlanta’s pass production?

Falcons Mailbag, No. 2 via Will McFadden: How often are Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier sharing the field? Will the Falcons incorporate more play action? Plus, a look at Brandon Dorlus’ progress.

Finally, this week’s Nerdy Birds statistical spotlight zeroes in how the young defensive overhaul has paid early dividends two games into the 2025 season.