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Atlanta Falcons Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Shark Bites are the latest fantasy football news & NFL updates. Draft Sharks has been in business since 1999. And when we started, redraft was the dominant form of fantasy football. Check out what we've learned about this most basic form of fantasy football along the way.

Falcons rookie EDGE Arnold Ebiketie (arm) is active for today's game against the Commanders. He's a low-level IDP option but carries some sack upside in this matchup.

Falcons CB A.J. Terrell (hamstring) is active for today's game against the Bears. It'll mark his 1st action since Week 7. Terrell hasn't made it through a full game since Week 5. The Chicago matchup hasn't been great for DB scoring, so he's far from a strong IDP option.

Falcons CB A.J. Terrell (hamstring) is questionable for Sunday's game against the Bears. He remained limited in practice all week after missing the past 3 games.

The Falcons have ruled CB A.J. Terrell (hamstring) out for Sunday's game against the Chargers. That helps an already-good matchup for QB Justin Herbert and his WRs.

The Falcons have ruled CB A.J. Terrell (hamstring) and S Jaylinn Hawkins (concussion) out for Sunday's game against the Panthers. Already down CB Casey Hayward, the Atlanta secondary presents an even friendlier matchup to Carolina QB P.J. Walker and WR D.J. Moore.

Falcons LB Mykal Walker (groin) is off the injury report after putting in 2 full practices to close out the week. Go ahead and get him back into IDP lineups.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that the Browns are trading for Falcons LB Deion Jones. The veteran brings a wealth of starting experience and a big contract with him. Terms of the trade, though, point to how far his status has fallen. Cleveland is sending just a 6th-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to Atlanta for Jones and a 7th-rounder in the same draft. Atlanta has been rumored to be selling Jones since the offseason, primarily seeking to unload his contract. The Browns likely view Jones as a chance worth taking in a LB corps that lost Anthony Walker for the season and just got abused by Austin Ekeler and the Chargers. We'll see whether and how soon Jones gets a shot at significant playing time. He has yet to take the field this year following offseason shoulder surgery and an August hamstring issue.

Falcons LB Mykal Walker left Sunday's loss to the Buccaneers early in the 2nd half with a groin injury. "Right now, I'm feeling good," he said after the game, per D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I should be ready to play next week." Walker did add that he was headed for further testing of the injury Monday. We'll see about his status leading up to Sunday's matchup with the 49ers.

The Falcons on Thursday placed LB Deion Jones on IR. It's a surprising move, given that Jones had recently come off the PUP and played in the team's preseason finale. Jones had shoulder surgery early in the offseason. We'll see whether the team reveals how long it expects him to be out. Jones' deactivation leaves Rahsaan Evans and Mykal Walker looking like the best bets for playing time among Falcons LBs.

Falcons LB Deion Jones returned to the practice field this week for the 1st time following offseason shoulder surgery. He worked with 3rd- and 4th-stringers, though, according to the team website. The highly paid also saw time on the punt team. "I'll give Deion credit, because he's going to come out here and he's going to compete," HC Arthur Smith said afterward. "He's going to work his way back in. It's going to be hard to get on the field in that room. And that's what you want with that competition. Rashaan [Evans] and Mykal Walker are doing a great job. We gotta see what Troy [Andersen] can do. [Nathan] Landman, Dorian [Etheridge]? They've had good preseasons. It's going to play itself out." Jones was the subject of trade/cut rumors before the shoulder surgery sidelined him. Atlanta would probably love to trade him for pretty much anything, which would offer salary-cap relief. Cutting Jones, on the other hand, would cost nearly $25 million in dead cap. The final year on his contract (2023) has much more cuttable terms. All of that is complicated by Jones coming off -- by far -- the poorest-graded season of his career. It seems likely that Rahsaan Evans and Mykal Walker start ahead of him, at least to open the season. Don't be afraid to just avoid the whole Falcons LB situation in your IDP drafts.

The Falcons opened training camp with LB Deion Jones on the physically unable to perform list. Jones is working back from shoulder surgery that kept him out of the offseason program. The team said at the time that it expected him to be ready for the start of training camp. We'll see how long the veteran stays on the PUP. (Atlanta can activate him at any point.)

The Falcons announced Thursday that LB Deion Jones will miss the entire offseason program after undergoing shoulder surgery. D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the team does expect Jones to be ready for the start of training camp. Assuming no setbacks in his rehab process, this may not be such a big deal for the 7th-year veteran. The most significant question on Jones is whether he makes it to the regular season on Atlanta's roster.

Falcons beat writer Jeff Schultz of The Athletic calls LB Deion Jones "almost certain" to leave the team as a post-June 1 cut this year. Schultz cites cap relief in 2023 as the primary reason to make such a move, rather than keep the veteran around until next season. Trading Jones at that point would help the team's cap situation even further, but it's tough to imagine another team taking on the bloated salary for a non-edge LB. We'll see, of course, whether this actually comes to fruition. And the decision (either way) should come well before most IDP leagues are drafting for 2022. One reasonable reaction now, though, would be to move 2nd-round rookie LB Troy Andersen up your dynasty fantasy football rankings.

LB Troy Andersen landed with the Falcons in Round 2 of the NFL Draft. Andersen is a highly intriguing prospect who spent just 1 year at LB after converting from both RB and QB. Andersen racked up 147 total tackles, including 14 for losses, and 7 pass breakups in his final season at Montana State. He followed that with a 4.42-second 40-yard dash at 6’4, 243 pounds – good for a 100th-percentile speed score. He lands in an Atlanta defense that just let Foye Oluokun walk in free agency. We'll see whether Andersen is ready to compete for a starting gig right away. There's plenty of long-term upside for IDP dynasty rookie drafts, though.

EDGE Arnold Ebiketie landed with the Falcons in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft. After 3 quiet years at Temple, Ebiketie broke out for 62 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks across 12 contests in 2021. He posted a slightly above-average 101.6 speed score at 6’2, 250 pounds at the Combine. Ebiketie’s 91st-percentile vertical and 96th-percentile broad jump point to well above-average explosiveness, though. We'll see about Ebiketie's position designation, but there's solid-to-good IDP upside here.

The Falcons on Monday agreed to a 1-year deal with LB Rashaan Evans. A 2018 first-round pick of the Titans, Evans never lived up to that billing. Although he started 11 of the 12 games he was available for last year, Evans' playing time dipped to 60%. He might find himself competing with Mykal Walker for the #2 LB role in Atlanta, after Foye Oluokun left for Jacksonville in free agency. But there's also still room for the Falcons to add a better prospect in the NFL Draft.

Falcons LB Deion Jones (shoulder) is inactive for today's game against the Jaguars. That likely means closer to full playing time for LB Mykal Walker.

Falcons LB Deion Jones is questionable for Sunday's game against the Jaguars. He didn't show up on the injury report until Friday, when a shoulder injury limited his participation. We'll check his status Sunday morning.

6:10pm EDT 10/22/21

The Falcons on Friday placed DE Dante Fowler on IR with a knee injury he suffered back in Week 5 against the Jets. It's not immediately clear how long Atlanta expects him to be out.

Falcons S Erik Harris left Sunday's loss to Washington with a calf injury. CB Isaiah Oliver left with a knee injury. We'll see whether either can make it back in time for next Sunday's game against the Jets in London. The travel schedule for that game could complicate the return path.

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