As far as roster gymnastics go, the Atlanta Falcons tried to pull a fast one on the rest of the NFL by only rostering two running backs: Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr., while their presumed RB3 Tyler Goodson was later cut and stashed on the practice squad until they needed to elevate him.
Had the Falcons kept three running backs, Goodson would have been a roster lock, but in order to attack other positions differently, Kevin Stefanski tried to get cute and play the roster gymnastics game--and they are already paying for the price for that decision because he was just poached.
According to Aaron Wilson, Tyler Goodson was poached off the Falcons' practice squad by the Dallas Cowboys, who are giving him a spot on their active roster. And while the Cowboys need RB depth behind Javonte Williams with Malik Davis out for the year, Atlanta could have avoided letting him walk by approaching this differently.
The Falcons should've kept Tyler Goodson on their initial 53-man roster
Atlanta kept four QBs and 13 defensive backs on their initial 53-man roster. They very easily could have found the room to retain Goodson if they tried. But trying to outwit, outplay, and outlast the rest of the NFL rarely works out--especially at a position where the demand is as high as running back. Some RB-needy team was always going to consider him after his strong summer.
Speaking of, the 25-year-old was one of the biggest standouts of Falcons camp. He made an impact on special teams, had some nice runs during the preseason, and turned heads in camp. Off that logic you keep him on the roster since the P-Squad always leaves the chance another team poaches him--which ultimately happened.
Because of their belief in Goodson, the Dirty Birds released Nate Carter and Cash Jones (who is still on the practice squad), and Carter also ended up elsewhere. And given Jones is more of a receiving back than a true RB3 built for this new system, they would need to look externally for RB insurance.
And the worst part is that they let him go. They had an spot on the active roster with Da'Shawn Hand going on IR, and could've used it on the Iowa product. And given he would've played multiple roles for this team, dedicating a roster spot to ensure they kept Goodson wouldn't have been wasteful.
So god forbid if one of Bijan Robinson or Brian Robinson Jr. go down with an injury, the Falcons don't have anybody on the practice squad they believe in enough to step up. And it wasn't even like the Iowa product was a gameday elevation--he was staying there until a more permanent solution came up.
The unfortunate truth is that however much the Atlanta Falcons needed Tyler Goodson, the Cowboys needed him more, and since they weren't careful, Dallas helped him slip through their fingertips.
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