Troy Andersen arrived in the NFL with sky-high potential and many questions about whether he’d live up to it. We saw brief, tantalizing glimpses of the kind of player he could be, but injuries ultimately derailed his career as a Falcon. Now his time with Atlanta is over.
Per Will McFadden with the Falcons, Andersen has been cut. The Falcons signed former Raiders wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson in a corresponding move.
It was a move that felt inevitable, but it’s still a gloomy day. Andersen had moments
in his rookie season back in 2022 after the team made him a second round pick out of Montana State, forcing a fumble, piling up three quarterback hits, and showing intriguing coverage potential in five starts over 17 games. His 2023 season was almost entirely wiped out by injury, but he returned to a major role in 2024 and started to put it all together with 12 tackles against the Chiefs and a dazzling 17 tackle effort against the Saints with an interception returned for a touchdown. Injury reared its ugly head again, however, and Andersen appeared in just three games the rest of the way, looking like a shell of the linebacker he briefly was. Andersen would never suit up for another regular season game after that for the Falcons.
Injury is the entire story here; Andersen may never have fully lived up to the potential his athleticism suggested, but his coverage skills alone would have bought him some kind of long-term role with this Falcons corps. Instead, his NFL career is now very much in question after he appeared in just nine games over the past four seasons and was on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list once again in training camp. Atlanta wanted to make it work and Andersen no doubt very badly wanted to get back out there, but it was evidently not going to happen. The Falcons will move forward with Divine Deablo, Christian Harris, Kendal Daniels, Harold Perkins Jr., and whoever wins the rock fight for a reserve/special teams role behind them.
Wilkerson, meanwhile, will join a receiving corps still trying to figure out its depth options. The ex-Patriot, Bill, and Raider has appeared in nine NFL games, catching six passes on 11 targets for 60 yards and three touchdowns. Wilkerson has some special teams value and was a camp standout for the Bills last summer, so perhaps he can make some noise in the weeks ahead.
We wish Andersen well wherever he ends up next and hope he can continue a once-promising NFL career wherever he lands.
