The Atlanta Falcons already had a logjam at the right tackle position, and the acquisition of Wanya Morris from the Kansas City Chiefs did little to silence those concerns. The offensive tackle room only has so many roster spots, and will have too many bodies fighting to make their mark in camp.
Between Morris, Jake Matthews, Jawaan Taylor, Ethan Onianwa, Jack Nelson, and Michael Jerrell, the Falcons won't roster all of them. Taylor and Matthews are completely safe, and I would imagine Morris is on the right side of the roster bubble. That leaves three tackles competing for one roster spot.
Storm Norton was placed on the reserve/PUP list, and will miss all of 2026. Presumably, the 25-year-old will take his spot as Atlanta's primary swing tackle. And that should be the straw that broke the camel's back for Jerrell, who may have been the favorite to step into that role if not for this trade.
Michael Jerrell is on the chopping block because of the Wanya Morris trade
Jerrell was the fallback plan the Falcons added when both Kaleb McGary and Storm Norton went down in training camp last summer. They got him for pennies on the dollar from Seattle, and quickly realized the trade wasn't worth it. The 26-year-old wasn't close to being rosterable, let alone startable.
You know the bar is underground when he couldn't even beat out Elijah Wilkinson for snaps. But even when he was on the field, Jerrell did more harm than good. According to Pro Football Focus, he played just 32 snaps in 2025, and logged an overall, run blocking, and pass blocking grade below 30.
A 24.2 PFF grade and a 29.1 run blocking grade is downright atrocious, but that's not even the worst part. He recorded a pass blocking grade of 10.0. He was such a liability in pass coverage that you can use your fingers to count to his pass-blocking grade. That's not regular bad, that's generationally bad.
The 26-year-old comes with no dead cap if he's released this summer, and Nelson and Onianwa are younger and presumably have more upside. So if Jerrell isn't a swing tackle or having any sort of role, there isn't any incentive for a front office that didn't bring him in to keep him around.
The Falcons already have their new swing tackle in Wanya Morris. The 25-year-old has more career starts under his belt and is a much better run blocker. And with the way the Dirty Birds' depth chart looks at offensive tackle after this new trade, it'll be tough for Michael Jerrell to make the roster.
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