The craze of the 2026 NFL Draft just saw the Atlanta Falcons claim its first victim: punter Trenton Gill. According to Falcons' reporter Tori McElhaney, the Falcons cut Gill on Monday just days after their draft class was finalized--likely to open up a roster spot to give a rookie a chance to prove himself.
Gill was signed to the practice squad in January, and signed a futures deal shortly after. In fact, he signed his deal on January 5, just one day after the Falcons fired Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot, so Atlanta gave him a chance before Kevin Stefanski or Ian Cunningham were ever in the equation.
The 27-year-old spent all season on Atlanta's practice squad as the backup punter behind Bradley Pinion, but instead of giving him a shot after Pinion's departure, the Dirty Birds turned to the free agent market to find their new starting punter under new special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman.
The Falcons are feeling the impact of their 2026 Draft class by releasing Trenton Gill
Gill started every game for the Chicago Bears in 2022 and 2023, but was ousted when they drafted Tory Taylor. And then in 2024, he was promoted from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice squad after Jake Camarda was cut, but he lasted just eight games as Tampa Bay's full-time starting punter.
The Falcons drafted six players and signed 16 undrafted free agents, so cutting Gill means Stefanski and Cunningham are merely practicing what they've preached all offseason long: they want to breed competition all over the roster, but punter is a position where they already have an incumbent starter.
Atlanta signed former MiamI Dolphins' punter Jake Bailey to a three-year, $9 million deal in free agency, so Gill was never getting his shot unless Bailey got hurt. And the former has a history with Aukerman, so the Falcons may as well keep roster flexibility at a maximum going into training camp.
The Falcons dropped a whopping zero special teamers, as they dedicated free agency to that area. However, they did draft players who can offer special teams value like Zachariah Branch and Harold Perkins Jr., and players who can wear multiple hats fit better with what this new regime is looking for.
Having an extra punter does nothing for them, so the Falcons are better suited to use that roster spot to evaluate their 2026 draft class. Fans are pretty excited over the way Cunningham's first draft class as a GM looks, especially without a first-round pick, and the upside with all six prospects is major.
It's not like Gill offers Atlanta much besides insurance at punter, so his roster spot was always in jeopardy. So watching the Falcons add 22 players this weekend alone meant that there was bound to be casualties, and as far as we know, the 2022 seventh-round pick is the first one to bite the dust.
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