With three games to go, the Falcons are washing their hands of the man who was supposed to help fix a moribund return game in 2025. Jamal Agnew did not provide that kind of help, and after costly miscues and a lot of forgettable returns, the team announced Saturday that they’ve cut him. Veteran cornerback CJ Henderson is the corresponding signing, as he’ll join the active roster from the practice squad.
Atlanta also placed KhaDarel Hodge on injured reserve yesterday, robbing them of a Pro Bowl special teamer when special teams has been a nightmare all year, and signed safety and special teamer Jammie Robinson to the active roster.
The Falcons also announced that Chris Blair and Khalid Kareem are up from the practice squad for Sunday to cap off a busy two-day stretch of moves.
We’ll start with the Agnew news, which is surprising only because the Falcons made the move in-season instead of simply letting him walk in the offseason. Agnew joined as a legitimately interesting returner, a one-time All-Pro and one-time Pro Bowler who averaged 10.3 yards per punt return and 26.1 yards per kick return as recently as 2023. We knew health would be an issue for him, but as an occasionally useful gadget player on offense with a track record of quality work on special teams—he has six combined career touchdowns on returns!—Agnew seemed likely to help with the team’s return woes.
Instead, Agnew’s 2025 will go down as a disaster. His 7.6 yards per punt return and 24.7 yards per kick return are both the third-worst single season averages of his career; he’s 54th in the NFL in kick return average and only seven players have averaged few punt return yards. In addition, Agnew has had costly miscues that range from merely frustrating (slipping on a return) to catastrophic (muffing a punt near his own end zone). The Falcons, under fire from all angles for their special teams sloppiness this year, finally made Agnew inactive against the Buccaneers and have now decided to cut ties with him entirely. Agnew has been a terrific returner in his career, but given his lack of usage on offense and how putrid his 2025 had been, this is not going to be the kind of cut that impacts the Falcons. The only oddity, again, is the timing, given that the season is nearly over.
The addition in Agnew’s place is Henderson. I would expect undrafted rookie Cobee Bryant to draw the start tomorrow against the Cardinals, given that he hung tough and showed some ability despite a rough day against the Buccaneers, but Henderson will be in the mix for playing time given his experience and the fact that the coaching staff talked him up earlier in the year. Jammie Robinson, meanwhile, will probably keep adding to his plate on special teams with Hodge out, given that the Falcons are trying to avoid special teams struggles over the final three weeks.
