The Falcons announced the signing of the UFL’s leading rusher, Jashaun Corbin, and the corresponding move.
The Falcons released running back Jase McClellan.
Atlanta drafted McClellan out of the University of Alabama with a sixth-round pick in 2024. He appeared in two games as a rookie, taking 19 offensive snaps and eight special teams snaps.
He had five carries for 17 yards in the Falcons’ Week 7 loss to the Seahawks and eight carries for 15 yards in the Falcons’ Week 11 loss to the Broncos. He went onto injured reserve in Week 15 with a knee injury.
Corbin joins a running backs room with Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, Carlos Washington Jr., Elijah Dotson and undrafted rookie Nathan Carter.
The Falcons are signing UFL running back Jashaun Corbin, James Larsen of UFL Newsroom reports.
Corbin played for the San Antonio Brahmas this spring and led the UFL in rushing with 514 yards and four touchdowns on 97 carries. He started six of the 10 games he played.
He added 18 receptions for 138 yards and returned 11 kicks for 252 yards with a long of 33. He fumbled once.
Corbin, 24, played at Texas A&M and Florida State, ending his four-year college career with third-team All-ACC honors for the Seminoles in 2021.
He went undrafted in 2022 and signed with the Giants as a rookie free agent. Corbin was on the Giants’ practice squad as a rookie. The Giants waived him before the start of the 2023 season, and the Panthers signed him to their practice squad.
He returned to the Giants’ practice squad later that season and ended up playing six games. He had one carry for 1 yard and caught three passes for 12 yards.
The Giants waived Corbin with an injury designation in August, and he signed with the Brahmas in October.
In Atlanta, he will join a running backs room with Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, Jase McClellan, Carlos Washington Jr., Elijah Dotson and undrafted rookie Nathan Carter.
Jared Bernhardt moved from lacrosse to football after a stellar collegiate career at Maryland and made it all the way to the NFL, but he’s now back to his original path.
Bernhardt won the Tewaaraton Award as the country’s top lacrosse player while at Maryland and then transferred to Ferris State to play wide receiver. He signed with the Falcons in 2022 and appeared in two games before going on the reserve/retired list in 2023. He returned to spend some time in the CFL, but is now playing in the Premier Lacrosse League.
Bernhardt said he has no regrets about his circuitous route over the last few years.
“Some people may have all the speculation about leaving at the top of your game, but for me, I just feel that was the right move for me,” Bernhardt said, via Edward Lee of the Baltimore Sun. “I wouldn’t change it. As I said, a lot of great experiences, ups and downs and a lot of good people you meet along the way, and if I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t have had that stuff. So I’m fortunate enough to have been able to go through all of that.”
Bernhardt has scored one goal in two games with the Denver Outlaws since his return.
Could veteran safety Justin Simmons end up on another NFC South club in 2025?
According to Joe Person of TheAthletic.com, the Panthers have been in touch with Simmons’ representation about potentially joining the team. But no signing is imminent at this time.
That makes sense, as Carolina wrapped up its minicamp last week and training camp isn’t set to begin until late July.
Simmons has familiarity with Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who served in the same role with the Broncos in 2022. Simmons led the NFL with six interceptions that season.
A third-round pick in 2016, Simmons spent his first eight seasons with the Broncos before he was released. He then signed a one-year deal with the Falcons for 2024, starting 16 games with the club. Simmons finished the year with 62 total tackles, seven passes defensed, and two interceptions.
Simmons has 71 career passes defensed and 32 interceptions in 134 games with 124 starts.
The Falcons will host 11 open training camp practices this preseason, starting July 24, the team announced Thursday.
A limited number of tickets are available at no cost for fans.
On July 26, as part of the NFL’s Back Together Weekend, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris and General Manager Terry Fontenot will address fans at IBM Performance Field. Freddie Falcon, Falcons cheerleaders and former Falcons players also will be in attendance.
The Falcons’ joint practices with the Titans on Aug. 12-13 are among the team’s open practices. Those will be held at the team facility before the teams play a preseason game on Aug. 15 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The Aug. 13 joint practice is the team’s last open practice.
Though he signed a lucrative four-year deal with the Falcons last offseason, quarterback Kirk Cousins is slated to be the backup to Michael Penix Jr. in 2025.
Cousins told reporters on Wednesday that he would love to play, but isn’t going to dwell on things that aren’t reality — meaning he’s accepted his situation for the coming season.
To that end, Cousins also said that he’s going to do what he can to support Penix.
“Michael is going to do great,” Cousins said, via Tori McElhaney of the team’s website. “He is going to have a great career. He is off to a great start, and he has all of the tangibles and intangibles that you need to be successful. I am just here to support him as he needs it. But, I also don’t need to be in his ear so much that I am another weight, another voice. I just want to be able to support as I can, and he knows that.”
Head coach Raheem Morris said there’s “no doubt” Cousins can help Penix.
“Kirk’s played in this league for a long time, seen a lot of football, seen a lot of things,” Morris said in his Tuesday press conference. “When you have a voice like that in the room, that’s always going to be helpful.
“Everybody likes really good football players and being around them, and Kirk’s been a really good football player in this league for a long time. When you’re able to come off some of the history, some of the things that he’s been through. None of those things would be harmful for Mike at all.”
Kirk Cousins is now prepared to stick with the Falcons.
Cousins spoke to reporters after Atlanta’s minicamp practice on Tuesday, saying that he’s going to support second-year QB Michael Penix however he can.
“Obviously, you would love to play,” Cousins said, via Tori McElhaney of the team’s website. “But I am not going to dwell on things that are not reality. That’s not the situation I am in. So, it’s better spent to be focused on the situation I am in, controlling what you can control. I think that is the right mindset to have.”
While Cousins confirmed that he and the team had conversations about trading him. But at this point, those talks are over.
“We are moving forward now,” Cousins said.
And what’s Cousins’ ideal situation for 2025?
“Right now it’s being in the situation I am in and being the best I can. And hopefully in February, we — as an organization — are holding up the Lombardi Trophy,” Cousins said. “And how we do that is more important as a team that we do that, some way, some how. That’s where the focus has to be: That we as an organization win a championship and each one of us individually has to do our part in that to get there.”
Having signed a four-year deal with the Falcons last year, Cousins is set to make $27.5 million in base salary in 2025. Unless there’s an injury or an unexpected change elsewhere, Cousins will earn that with Atlanta.
Kirk Cousins has shown up for work.
According to NFL Media, Cousins is in attendance for the Falcons’ mandatory minicamp.
While Atlanta has turned the page to second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr., the club is set to keep Cousins as a backup for 2025.
Cousins would like to be a starter, but absent an injury, it appears starting slots for the coming season have been filled.
Cousins, 37, is nevertheless set to make $27.5 million in base salary for the 2025 season on the four-year contract he signed with Atlanta as a free agent last offseason.
Though Cousins had attended some of the Falcons’ voluntary workouts, it’s unclear what level of participation he’ll have with the club this week.
In 14 games last season coming off an Achilles tear, Cousins completed 67 percent of his passes for 3,508 yards with 18 touchdowns and a league-high 16 interceptions.
The NFL will allow its players to participate in flag football in the 2028 Olympics, and several have publicly expressed interest. Count Falcons running back Bijan Robinson among those.
“I feel like it’s always an honor to play for your country,” Robinson said, via video from Cory Muse of KVUE. “Like, you always want to play for your country. I would love to show my skillset on that type of stage.
“So, I think it’s going to come down to our schedule and where it lies, and if the teams even let us go. But I would love to play if given the opportunity. We’ll see. I don’t want it to affect my team and what we’ve got going here.”
Robinson grew up playing flag football in the offseason, participating in Texas’ 7-on-7 competitions every summer. He agrees with current flag football players, including star Darrell Doucette III, that flag football isn’t the same as tackle football.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of great flag football players out here, and that’s all that they play, and they’re very specific in the game,” Robinson said. “Like you have guys who can be running with the football, and they can get this low to the ground and not get touched. No NFL player is doing that, or trying to do that at least.”
The flag football competition is scheduled for July 14-21, 2028, which is a week before most veteran reporting dates for training camp.
Robinson will be 26 in 2028.
Kirk Cousins has not been with the Falcons for most of their voluntary offseason work, but the quarterback is expected to take a different approach for the start of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday.
Dianna Russini of TheAthletic.com reports that the team expects Cousins to report for the three-day minicamp. Cousins is under contract, so he would be subject to fines if he misses the minicamp without being excused by the team.
Cousins signed a four-year deal with Atlanta last March, but the Falcons later used a first-round pick on Michael Penix and Penix replaced Cousins as the team’s starter during the 2024 season. Cousins is guaranteed $27.5 million in salary this season and the Falcons have said that they are comfortable keeping him on the roster as a backup to Penix.
Cousins has been less enthusiastic about the prospect of staying with the team, but no trade has materialized and moving him may take an injury somewhere else at some point in the summer or fall.
