It's roster release day, and all 32 teams are going to make some of their most difficult roster decisions across the next couple of hours. Every year there are surprise cuts around this time, and the Atlanta Falcons have made a few of them between Bralen Trice and Wanya Morris, among others.
More news will trickle in in the hours leading up to the 6:00 p.m. deadline, but the Falcons have already solved one of their biggest roster dilemmas: with that coming in the cornerback room, as they were gonna have to decide between three different corners for one of their final roster spots, including Clark Phillips III.
Atlanta had Phillips, C.J. Henderson, and Cobee Bryant competing for their final outside corner spot, and it was starting to look like it would come down to Henderson and Phillips after Bryant had a rough summer--and Ian Cunningham settled that debate with the Gervon Dexter deal by dealing Phillips.
C.J. Henderson is on the right side of the roster bubble with Clark Phillips gone
When the Falcons acquired Dexter from Chicago, they sent the former fourth-rounder and a fifth-round pick to the Bears in exchange for the 24-year-old. And while the trade had bigger roster fallout in the DT room, it also settled how this CB room is going to look Week 1 barring any major changes.
Right now, I would expect the rostered CBs to be A.J. Terrell, Avieon Terrell, Mike Hughes, Darnay Holmes, and now C.J. Henderson--with Billy Bowman Jr. starting out on IR. The Dirty Birds were never keeping both Phillips and Henderson, and now it appears the latter is on the right side of the bubble.
The former top-10 pick had a solid summer in Atlanta, as he got off to a hot start in training camp. And he was also the first bench cornerback to play in relief of A.J. Terrell in Friday's preseason finale, which feels like a major hint of how this coaching staff feels about last year's practice squad call-up.
Even DBs coach Justin Hood has praised the 27-year-old for playing with the most confidence he's ever had, so Henderson's strong summer doesn't feel like a mirage. The Florida product impressed enough to allow them to feel comfortable trading Phillips to land Gervon Dexter, and he's been ahead of Bryant anyways.
The Atlanta Falcons knew deciding between Clark Phillips III and C.J. Henderson wouldn't be easy, and it already appeared that Henderson was the favorite. However, trading away Phillips was the biggest giveaway that the former draft-bust will get to continue his redemption story in 2026.
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