It's safe to say the Atlanta Falcons' initial 53-man roster didn't stay set in stone for very long. They managed to claim three players off waivers, adding all three to the active roster--and this meant that they needed to make release three players in correspondence to get back to where they needed to.
And one of those corresponding moves was quite the shocker: the Falcons waived veteran defensive tackle Zach Harrison--presumably after a failed attempt to trade him. And while the fanbase is livid about his departure, there is at least some glimmer of hope he ends back up on the practice squad.
Harrison returing to Atlanta is far from a guarantee. First off, he has to clear waivers--which doesn't appear likely given how many teams could use DL help from a talented, young player entering the final season of his rookie deal. He could likely play a key role on the active roster of another team, which is superior to a stint on the Falcons' practice squad.
Keep an eye on Cooper Rush ending up on the Falcons' practice squad
Meanwhile, let's dive into the practice squad. The Falcons are currently using 14 of 16 possible spots now that Josh Woods was promoted to the active roster in place of the injured JD Bertrand. And with Woods on the 53, they have one of their six veteran slots on the practice squad still available for him.
However, Harrison may not be the only one the Dirty Birds are looking at for that spot. It remains to be seen how much longer they'll actually roster four quarterbacks, which means one of Jack Strand or Cooper Rush could be cut candidates and that spot on the practice squad could go to someone else.
Strand is not the issue here. He can take the final remaining non-vet slot. It's Rush to worry about. The 32-year-old is a true vet, which means he would only be eligible on the P-Squad for this one spot, as would the 25-year-old DT since both of them have more than two seasons of NFL experience.
It's important for Atlanta to roster someone like Rush on their practice squad, because if god forbid Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa go down, they still have a veteran in tow--which means they wouldn't have to start Strand sooner than they feel comfortable with. And keeping Cooper Rush over Strand on the practice squad means there's no risk of the rookie getting poached by another team.
Falcons fans may want to see the 2023 third-round pick stick around on the practice squad, but given how this new regime has spoken about him, that feels unlikely. If they wanted to keep him, they could've just placed him on short-term IR to open a roster spot instead of this whole rigamarole.
The Falcons never cut Zach Harrison over talent: it was more-so about their lack of faith in him to stay healthy as he fell out of favor in a crowded DL room. And it sounds like by waiving him, this new regime wants to allow him to pursue a fresh start--while Cooper Rush could get the veteran spot.
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