John

Cominsky

Cominsky took to social media to announce his retirement due to medical reasons. A former 2019 fourth-round pick by the Falcons, Cominsky missed all of last season due to a torn MCL he suffered during the summer and saw his contract with the Lions expire at the end of the season. Cominsky appeared in 57 games in his career, making 20 starts while totaling 7.5 sacks and 107 tackles.

Cominsky was claimed on waivers this past offseason and had a career-high four sacks for the Lions in 556 defensive snaps. It appears he didn’t do enough to draw a ton of attention in free agency, but he profiles as decent depth for Detroit on the defensive line.

It sounds like Cominsky could head to injured reserve, but that’s yet to be noted. Cominsky has played 39% of the defensive snaps through two weeks and leads the Lions in pressures, recording one sack.

Cominsky mostly spent last year as a healthy scratch with the Dean Pees Falcons, but will look to bite off some kneecaps in Detroit. His best season was in 2020, when he notched a sack and three tackles for loss in 398 defensive snaps.

Cominsky was a fourth-round selection by the Falcons in the 2019 NFL Draft and appeared in 27 games throughout his career. Per PFF, Cominsky saw significant action in 2020, appearing on 399 defensive snaps while totaling 30 tackles, 21 QB pressures and one sack. In 2021 he appeared in just four games for the Falcons, and will now look to continue his career elsewhere in 2022. Atlanta saves $965,000 against the cap with Cominsky’s release.

A couple of Falcons assistant coaches were “close contacts” with Cominsky, so they won’t make the trip either. The Falcons will take two planes to Minnesota this week to separate COVID close contacts with unaffected players and remain on track to play Week 6. Atlanta has followed protocols and will need to dodge more positive tests from now until Sunday to guarantee they play.

The organization traded up to nab Cominsky (6'5/286) with the No. 135 overall pick in last year’s draft, failing to find a consistent role for the rookie on 100 empty defensive snaps behind Vic Beasley, Adrian Clayborn, and a handful of other rotational pass rushers. With those two names in particular out the door in free agency, the former Charleston product will undoubtedly have to take on a much larger role across from splash signing Dante Fowler. 2018 sixth-rounder Foye Oluokun is also expected to enter Atlanta’s lineup as a first-year starter this upcoming season.

Fifth-rounders Qadree Ollison and Jordan Miller, and sixth-rounder Marcus Green also signed. A Division 2 star, Cominsky has some of the highest upside among Atlanta’s Day 3 picks. He should compete for a rotational role in training camp.

Cominsky (6’5/286) transformed from a 215-pound high-school option quarterback into one of Division 2’s most-dominant defensive linemen, tallying 39.5 TFLs and 9.5 sacks over his final two years. Cominsky turned heads at the Senior Bowl and Combine, where he earned 82nd-percentile SPARQ results with 4.69 speed and a highly impressive 7.03 three-cone time. Cominsky is firmly in his development phase and making a huge jump in competition, but his raw tools are more than a little intriguing with NFL-caliber size and athleticism.