Leonard

Floyd

Bergeron and pass rusher Leonard Floyd (hamstring) will both be sidelined for Sunday’s game against the Colts in Germany. The Falcons will be down at least two starers along the OL with Bergeron out and RT Kaleb McGary being sidelined since training camp due to a season-ending knee injury. Andrew Steuber is listed behind Bergeron on the team’s depth chart and will likely draw the start against the Colts.

Floyd ties for a team-high 19 quarterback pressures, with two sacks to boot. He also has just two tackles, but remains an impactful pass rusher nonetheless. The Falcons were also without LG Matthew Bergeron (ankle) on Thursday. They play the Colts overseas in Week 10.

Floyd was released by the 49ers on Tuesday, and it took mere hours for him to find a new home. The 32-year-old will get $10 million according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Floyd was able to procure 8.5 sacks with San Francisco in 2024, and he should be one of the primary pass-rushers for Atlanta during the 2025 campaign.

This will only save a little under $1.5 million against the cap unless the 49ers submit it as a post-June 1 release, and they already used one of their post-June 1 tags on Javon Hargrave. Floyd had 8.5 sacks last year and has essentially become a mercenary No. 2 EDGE at this point. It’s possible the 49ers are clearing a spot for Joey Bosa with this move. Floyd will look to find a new line after just one year with the 49ers.

Floyd suffered a sprained knee in the team’s preseason finale Friday. His presence at practice Wednesday allows 49ers faithful to exhale after it was revealed that there was no long-term or structural damage to his knee. The offseason acquisition has amassed 9.0 or more sacks in four consecutive seasons while playing for the Rams and Bills and gives the 49ers a legitimate presence off the edge opposite Nick Bosa.

In addition to Floyd, defensive tackle Yetur Gross-Matos is also believed to have suffered a sprained knee. Both players will undergo MRIs on Saturday to confirm their injuries and their severity. Floyd signed a one-year contract with the 49ers this offseason and is coming off a 10.5-sack year with the Bills, which tied his career high. We’ll see if either player’s absence stretches into the regular season. The 49ers open the year on September 9 against the Jets.

Though the 49ers are never one to shy away from adding pass-rushing talent, this move is less about doubling down on a strength and more about backfilling. Defensive tackle Arik Armstead is expected to be released and Chase Young, who the team traded for at the deadline last year, is a free agent. Floyd signed a one-year deal with the Bills last offseason and gave them 10.5 sacks plus nine TFLs. Even at 31 years old, he proved to be a top-end pass-rusher once again. His addition will help keep the 49ers’ defensive machine rolling in 2024.

Floyd said he’d prefer to stay in Buffalo, but the Bills are almost $50 million over the cap space, which could make retaining Floyd a tall task in 2024 and beyond. The veteran pass rusher tied a career-high this season when he racked up 10.5 sacks in his first year with the Bills. Floyd has posted nine or more sacks in each of the last four seasons and will be 32 at the start of next season. He still has enough in the tank to serve as a situational pass rusher, which is how he’d likely be utilized next season. Floyd played in all 17 of the Bills’ regular season games in 2023 but played on just 576 snaps, his fewest since his 2016 rookie season.

Both Hyde and Floyd limped off of the field during Sunday’s win over the Raiders and didn’t return to the game. Of course, Buffalo was also up three scores at the time, so there was no need to rush either player back. Still, we saw how important Hyde is to this Buffalo secondary when he missed the season last year, so his presence on the field will be crucial against a solid Commanders offense. Similarly, with Von Miller out, Floyd has been an integral component of the Bills’ defense line. Considering both players are veterans, they might not need to get in a full practice in order to play on Sunday, but this is a situation to monitor.

The Rams made Floyd a cap casualty last March when they released him to free up $3 million in cap space. Floyd has totaled nine or more sacks in each of his last three seasons and totaled 54 quarterback pressures last season -- the second-highest total of his career. His signing with the Bills reunites him with former Rams teammate Von Miller and bolsters a pass rush that ranked 14th in sacks last season.