If there's one thing that just became clear about new Atlanta Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski, it's that he's not messing around. The Falcons start training camp today, and it didn't take long for the new coach to prove that it's a cutthroat business and that he didn't come to Atlanta to make friends.
That point hit home when the Falcons released one of their trusted veterans before training camp. The team reportedly moved on from veteran QB Trevor Siemian, releasing him with a non-football injury designation after he missed most of OTAs due to a calf injury he recently re-aggravated.
In addition to Tua Tagovailoa, the 34-year-old was a QB addition that Stefanski himself made this offseason. The Falcons signed him to a one-year deal, but even if healthy, his roster spot wasn't safe, as undrafted rookie Jack Strand pushed for the QB3 role, but now we'll never know how this would have played out.
The Atlanta Falcons just released Trevor Siemian to begin training camp
It sounds like this has nothing to do with performance, as this new coaching staff never really got to get a good look at Siemian taking the field, but cutting him before ever taking a snap is bold--especially considering both Tua and Michael Penix Jr. are going to be sidelined during practice today.
After starting a combined 24 games for the Denver Broncos across 2016 and 2017, Siemian morphed into one of the NFL's better backup quarterbacks. He's even become a bit of a journeyman, as the Dirty Birds were set to be the sixth team he's joined in his eight seasons since leaving Denver.
The Siemian release got a bit overshadowed amid the many injury moves the Falcons made to kick off training camp, but I guess they were spooked enough by his injury to warrant releasing him. After all, he was in line to be the QB stepping in if both Penix and Tua got hurt at some point this season.
Given they need their QB3 to be on the field considering the injury histories of the two players they cut, this was a risk Atlanta's new staff didn't feel comfortable taking. And they've apparently seen enough from Strand that they feel comfortable giving him a chance to stick around on the roster.
Releasing Trevor Siemian before the roster cut deadline on Aug. 30 was another story. But cutting him before training camp even started was a surprise--and it's proof that a new era has officially hit the Atlanta Falcons' facility.
Add us as a preferred source on Google