The Atlanta Falcons might have just seen Billy Bowman Jr. return to the lineup, but they are still in desperate need of additional depth at cornerback. The Week 11 statuses of Mike Hughes and Dee Alford are up in the air, so Raheem Morris is turning to a player Falcons fans should know all too well.
It was reported that while DeAngelo Malone was being placed on IR, the Dirty Birds signed EDGE Khalid Kareem to the active roster from the practice squad and CB C.J. Henderson back to the practice squad. Both players spent training camp with the Dirty Birds, so the moves aren't major, but still important.
The Falcons signed OLB Khalid Kareem to the active roster from the practice squad and cornerback C.J. Henderson to the practice squad Thursday. They also officially added DeAngelo Malone to the IR.
— Josh Kendall (@JoshTheAthletic) November 13, 2025
What makes this interesting is that Henderson spent the majority of his career to date with the Panthers—the team Atlanta will host in Week 11. The 27-year-old likely won't see that much action if he's elevated, but it's nice to see Jeff Ulbrich attempting yet another draft bust rehabilitation project.
Falcons sign former first-round pick C.J. Henderson to rectify CB woes
Henderson was the ninth overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, where he was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars. After a standout career at Florida, his collegiate success didn't translate to the NFL, as he hasn't played in a regular season game since the 2023 season.
He was traded from Jacksonville to Carolina midway through the 2021 season, where his struggles in coverage ended his career before it could ever really begin. He has just three career interceptions and 16 career passes defensed, so it was tough sledding near the end.
According to Pro Football Focus, Henderson's 45.4 PFF grade and 43.9 coverage grade ranked 123rd out of 128 qualified cornerbacks, but his 79.2 pass rush grade ranked 11th at the position. Yet even playing opposite Panthers star cornerback Jaycee Horn couldn't help Henderson meet expectations.
Like Kareem, he was re-signed to the Falcons' practice squad after failing to make the Week 1 roster, but Henderson was released in mid-September. But after he was spotted at Thursday's practice by ESPN's Marc Raimondi, it was quickly speculated that he was being brought back with the chance of making his season debut this season.
Meanwhile, Kareem was a fifth-round pick of the Bengals in 2020 and enjoyed stints in Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Chicago before landing in Atlanta, where he signed a future contract in January.
Coincidentally, the Notre Dame product was also teammates with Falcons linebacker JD Betrand in South Bend, and the pair will reunite once again.
Henderson isn't a perfect insurance add, especially with promising UDFA Cobee Bryant on the practice squad as well, but for Ulbrich, it's worth evaluating if he can revive the former first-round pick's NFL career.