The hits keep coming for the Atlanta Falcons. After an 0-2 start, the team received some hope with the news that quarterback Michael Penix Jr. would be making his first start on Thursday Night Football against the Packers. That hope was promptly dashed with the news that top cornerback A.J. Terrell has been placed on injured reserve, meaning he’ll miss at least the next four games.
In his place, the Falcons signed defensive lineman Zach Harrison to the active roster. Given that Atlanta already had a surplus of cornerbacks on the roster, there wasn’t a need to immediately sign another. The starting role opposite Mike Hughes now goes to veteran C.J. Henderson, who mostly held up well in relief of Terrell so far. Still, there’s likely to be significant drop-off, especially against the premier wide receivers of the league.
On the flip side, the Falcons get Zach Harrison back on the active roster. Harrison looked like the team’s best interior rusher when he was healthy in 2025, but missed the majority of the season with injury and never got back to full health during training camp. Hopefully this is a sign that Harrison is now fully healthy and can bolster a Falcons defensive line that has been better than expected through the first two weeks.
The loss of A.J. Terrell is a serious one, and will require some defensive tweaks to cover up. We’ll hope that Terrell’s absence is a short-term one, and that Atlanta can weather the storm in the meantime.
