The Atlanta Falcons have all of training camp to determine how their final 53-man roster will look entering the 2026 season, but that doesn't change the reality. With all of the competition Kevin Stefanski has embraced, earning a roster spot is going to take more blood, sweat, and tears to do.
The Falcons have some players who are in a difficult position. The guys who have spent more time off the field than on it have a lot to prove to this new coaching staff. That includes the mystery box that is Bralen Trice and Troy Andersen, but they're not the only injury prone players on the team.
You may not remember his name because of his own health struggles, but Atlanta still has veteran safety DeMarcco Hellams on the roster. But instead of being the third safety and seeing the field on special teams like he has been, Hellams has a much more difficult path to making the roster in 2026.
DeMarcco Hellams could be nearing the end of his time in Atlanta
The 26-year-old appeared in 15 games and made four starts as a rookie, where he actually showed some promise as a rotational defensive back. But he missed all of 2024 due to injury, and by the time he was able to return in 2025, Hellams was a special teamer, and he rarely saw the field on defense.
The 2023 seventh-round pick made 11 appearances last season, but logged just 10 tackles and was placed on season-ending IR due to a hamstring injury. And now he has more competition for snaps, as Atlanta brought in both Sydney Brown and Jammie Robinson who can assume his same role.
Hellams is in a difficult position: this new regime didn't sign or draft him, they inherited him. So he'll have a much harder time proving himself to a staff that traded for Brown, who will be the new third safety. And Brown's versatility to play nickel corner or safety makes him more valuable to the defense.
The first step for the Alabama product is staying healthy, but even then it is easier said than done. He doesn't offer much more than special teams contributions at this point, and both Brown and Robinson are able do the same. And Natrone Brooks has also worked with the safeties in minicamp.
The Falcons already have three roster locks at the safety position in Jessie Bates III, Xavier Watts, and Sydney Brown, and it's no guarantee Jeff Ulbrich wants to roster a fourth. So unless he's healthier than ever or is the standout of training camp, he may be as good as gone.
Even though he's missed 27 games across the last three years, whether or not DeMarcco Hellams makes the Falcons' final roster or not comes down to how he fares in training camp and in preseason--which is his last chance to save himself.
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