Falcons news roundup: another UDFA cut, Jalon Walker update, Kendal Daniels latest

The word of the week for the Atlanta Falcons this week is resilience. After dropping two straight games, they forced four turnovers against a high-powered San Francisco 49ers' offense, including two straight on the final two drives of the game to shock the unbeaten 49ers by a score of 29-20.

The Falcons managed to spoil Raheem Morris' return to Mercedes-Benz Stadium while Michael Penix Jr. turned in his best start of the season to hand the Niners their first loss of 2026. Meanwhile, the defense picked off Brock Purdy twice and did everything to make life easier on Penix and the offense.

Atlanta is sitting at 3-4 and just a half-game back of the NFC South-leading Carolina Panthers, which means they are in striking distance to make up some ground in the division title race. This team should be riding high, but things aren't going to get easier in a clash with Baker Mayfield and the Bucs.

The Falcons can't afford to lose focus, as the Bucs may be 2-5, but they're fresh off of a dominant 30-point win over the Panthers in Week 7 in Mayfield's return to the lineup. Operations were as clean as can be against the 49ers, but now Kevin Stefanski needs to ensure they stay that way in Week 8.

There is a lot of interesting buzz about this team, so let's dive into what's been happening with the Dirty Birds as they return to the practice field later today.

1. Kendal Daniels opens up on his return to the field
2. Jalon Walker is making progress way faster than we realize
3. Quick Slants:

Kendal Daniels opens up on his return to the field

The biggest story from Sunday's win was with rookie LB Kendal Daniels. Daniels suffered a frightening injury where his neck was immobilized and he was stretchered off the field during the Falcons' Week 6 loss to the Bears, and after getting checked out at the hospital, turned out to be fine.

About an hour after leaving the hospital he was seen back in the locker room walking off under his own power, and was back on the practice field just three days later as if nothing happened.

He practiced in full on Friday, and not only did he play on Sunday, he wore the green dot to call plays for the defense in Divine Deablo's absence--and he was the only defender to play every defensive snap for Atlanta. And he came through, picking off Brock Purdy and recovering a George Kittle fumble on the final two drives to help seal the game.

It was a wild week for the fourth-round pick, and even Stefanski referred to what happened as "remarkable". And he was ready to open up about it, as he referred to this past week as "the craziest of my life", and he told reporters that there were nerves leading up to it, but they quickly went away.

“I wasn’t scared," Daniels said. "I definitely thought, because I haven’t been in full pads all week, ‘What if I’m not okay?’ But once I got my first tackle pregame and just thudding up, I was good.”

But that's not all. According to Falcons senior reporter Will McFadden, Daniels revealed that star safety Jessie Bates III--an all-star leader in his own right and the player who forced the fumble on Kittle--used his veteran experience to support the former Oklahoma standout during the game.

"He helped me out tremendously. Being able to have a vet like that on the back end being able to help me in communicating and make calls when I'm giving the whole defensive call, he can calm me down and just be like, 'KD, let's go.'"

The toughness he displayed caught the eye of teammates such as Bates, who revealed he'd been impressed with Daniels "since the day he'd got here" while Drake London also gave him props for his resilience. This story is just truly incredible and proves why we love football.

Jalon Walker is making progress way faster than we realize

Falcons fans were devastated when second-year pass-rusher Jalon Walker was carted off the field during training camp, as they had high hopes for a Year 2 breakout from the former Georgia star. And the news got even sadder when it came out that he tore his ACL, effectively taking another year off of his development.

The Falcons posted a video on social media where Walker was celebrating with Drake London after the win over the 49ers, and it was easy to catch one detail from the video: he has no crutches. The injury happened just three months ago, and he's already walking crutch-less is incredibly impressive.

This guy is an absolute freak athlete, because he's just under three months removed from the injury, so there should be no doubt now he'll be ready for Week 1 of 2027.

Quick Slants:

Another UDFA bites the dust

The Falcons signed a large UDFA class following the 2026 NFL Draft, and while many of those players had moments this offseason (particularly during training camp and the preseason) where they stood out, none of them have stuck around pretty long, which is pretty normal given most undrafted free agents don't amount to much.

Atlanta has released the following high-profile UDFAs already:

• James Brockermeyer
• Malcolm DeWalt
• Carlos Allen Jr.
• Cash Jones

But the Falcons are about to add one more to the list. According to ESPN's Marc Raimondi, they cut undrafted rookie tight end Jack Velling (who had some nice moments this summer) off the practice squad and replaced him on the P-Squad former Georgia Tech tight end E.J. Jenkins.

The only high-profile 2026 UDFAs who remain are Jack Strand, who is still on the active roster, and Vinny Anthony II on the practice squad.

The Falcons awarded Cameron Thomas has a new honor

Cameron Thomas has been one of the Falcons' breakout stars of 2026, as his 25 pressures through seven games are tied with Abdul Carter and Rashan Gary for 14th among all edge rushers. He's stepped up for this depleted pass-rush yet was signed for $3 million by Atlanta this past offseason.

According to Falcons beat reporter Daniel Flick, Thomas has a new title now. He was voted by the team as their NFLPA player representative, and will represent the team as a voting rep, succeeding Chris Lindstrom, while Josh Woods, Zach Harrison, and Liam McCullough are the alternate reps.

A viral moment from the 49ers win

A lot of interesting moments happened during the Falcons' win over the 49ers, but one of the most intriguing came after Kyle Pitts' touchdown reception.

During his touchdown, Pitts ran into a stadium worker and knocked her over, but instead of celebrating the touchdown, he immediately went over to help her up--where he was helped by some of his teammates, including Drake London, Michael Penix Jr., and Austin Hooper.

It goes to show you that this Falcons team has not just a bunch of talented football players, but this is a locker room filled with good human beings.

A new home for Bralen Trice

Bralen Trice has dealt with a journey in Atlanta. The 2024 third-round pick tore his ACL as a rookie, re-aggravated the same knee in Year 2, and before this season, had not appeared in a regular-season game. He was released during final roster cuts and retained on the practice squad, and after a short stint on the active roster, was released again in favor of Drake Johnson.

However, his stint in free agency didn't last long. After a workout with the San Francisco 49ers confirmed a Raheem Morris reunion wasn't in the cards, Trice reportedly signed with the Las Vegas Raiders' practice squad, where he'll return to the West Coast in hopes of reviving his career.

At 25 years old, there's a lot of upside in signing him, but it's all contingent on whether or not he can stay healthy.

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