When I say that the Atlanta Falcons have looked into every option in their cornerback room, I meant every option. The room has a strong base with A.J. Terrell, second-round rookie Avieon Terrell, Mike Hughes and Billy Bowman Jr., but the depth options in particular are seriously lacking in comparison.
The Falcons have guys like Darnay Holmes, Cobee Bryant, C.J. Henderson, and Clark Phillips vying for roster spots as depth options, but they're not the only ones. A.J. Woods is looking to extend his career in Atlanta, but unfortunately, saying he's had a rough start to the summer would be a huge understatement.
Woods has been going through it in both rookie minicamp and OTAs. First, Zachariah Branch had a few plays that put him in a spin cycle during minicamp, and then Kyle Pitts mossed him for a highlight catch during OTAs--but to his credit, he was never going to win a 50-50 ball against that guy.
The Atlanta Falcons releasing A.J. Woods this summer seems inevitable
It feels like for every highlight play the Atlanta offense has generated, Woods has been the primary defender in coverage. The 25-year-old was one of the only veterans the Dirty Birds invited to rookie minicamp, and that alone should confirm that his status on the roster isn't particularly safe in 2026.
Since he went undrafted in the 2024 NFL Draft, Woods has bounced around the NFL. Before signing to the Falcons' practice squad in October, he had short stints with the Washington Commanders, Denver Broncos, and Philadelphia Eagles, but never played a down of NFL football with any of them.
The main deficit for the former Pittsburgh Panther is his size. At 5-foot-11 and 186 pounds, he lacks the technique to play an every-down role at the NFL level. Avieon Terrell isn't much bigger, but at least he has the nose for the football and what he lacks in size he makes up for with his elite physicality.
He was signed to a reserve/futures contract earlier this offseason, but at this point, it'd be a surprise for Woods to still be on the roster once training camp starts, let alone roster cuts. He was probably never making the roster over guys like Holmes and Bryant, but a strong summer would've at least helped him find a home on another team's practice squad. But I think Jeff Ulbrich has seen enough.
Woods has enjoyed such a brutal start to the summer that it's only a matter of time before he's cut. And once that happens. keep an eye on Terrell switching from his current jersey number of 12 to Woods' 20.
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