The Atlanta Falcons have two defenders who were viewed as hyper-promising pieces of the puzzle as recently as 2024. Bralen Trice was a well-rounded third round draft selection and Troy Andersen was entering his third season with a chance to put inconsistency and injury behind him.
Since then, it’s been nothing but disaster. Andersen hit the shelf after seven games in 2024, including a triumphant effort against the Saints, and hasn’t appeared in a game since Week 14 of that season. Trice was injured
in the summer of 2024 and has yet to appear in an NFL regular season game, having missed each of the past two seasons. Two potential cornerstones of the next great Falcons defense are now afterthoughts.
That makes this a crossroads sort of season for Andersen and Trice, from both the Falcons perspective and for their respective careers. Return healthy and show value and the Falcons will look to keep you around; fail to do so or suffer injuries again and your time in Atlanta is over and your time in the NFL is an open question. There’s a lot at stake for both players.
This is especially true of Trice, who has zero NFL tape to show other teams. In college he was one of the most productive pass rushers and a rugged run defender who figured to add to this team’s outside linebacker group, but two years removed from game action it’s an open question what he can contribute. If he’s healthy and the skill set that saw him land in Atlanta back in 2024 is intact, Trice should be a real asset as a 15-20 snap per game player who can credibly play all three downs. If not, he may not make it through his rookie deal here; I’m rooting for him but keeping my expectations low.
The same statement is true of Andersen, who has considerable promise but just cannot seem to stay healthy. That game against the Saints was a showcase for everything he can offer—the sideline-to-sideline playmaking acumen, tackling, and playmaking ability were all on display—but we’ve barely seen him since he was making an ill-advised set of appearances later in 2024 where he looked like a shell of himself. Divine Deablo, Christian Harris, and rookie Kendal Daniels are all likely ahead of him on the depth chart even if he’s healthy, but Andersen could still be a special teams standout and clear upgrade over the likes of JD Bertrand and company with the potential to jump in games and wreak some havoc for a handful of snaps on defense every game.
Both players can be assets, in other words, if healthy. The summer will tell us if Trice, Andersen, or both can continue their careers in Atlanta and add to what we hope is a terrific defense in 2026, or if both might be headed elsewhere in 2027.
