Falcons induct Fralic and Abraham into Ring of Honor
Bill Fralic becomes the first Ring of Honor member inducted posthumously as Atlanta preps for a season-opening trip to Pittsburgh with its quarterback race still unresolved.
Fralic becomes the Ring of Honor's first posthumous member, and his widow found out on camera
Atlanta announced this week it is adding John Abraham and offensive lineman Bill Fralic to its Ring of Honor this season, with Fralic set to become the first player in franchise history inducted posthumously. The club filmed the moment it told his widow, Susan, in person — "He's home now," the team's account posted, saying it had "surprised his widow, Susan, with his well-deserved place in Falcons history."
"He's home now" 🥹 Bill Fralic will be the first member to be posthumously inducted into the Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor We surprised his widow, Susan, with his well-deserved place in Falcons history t.co/gQ542bMHGD
Abraham gets his own reunion. He's the franchise's all-time sack leader with 68.5 in a Falcons uniform, including a 16.5-sack, All-Pro season in 2008 and five career Pro Bowl trips, per Pro Football Reference — the production behind the nickname the club's account resurfaced this week, "The Predator." "The band got back together to let Abe know his legacy would live on forever in Atlanta," the team posted, and it's the rare piece of franchise history landing in the middle of a season instead of at a reunion weekend.
Preseason closes 2-1, and Pitts was the best weapon on the field in the finale
Atlanta closed the preseason 2-1, a clean bounce back from the 7-27 opening loss to the Broncos on August 14 through a 34-6 rout of the Colts on August 22 to a 17-12 win over the Dolphins on August 28. Brian Robinson Jr. scored on the Falcons' opening drive against Miami, one of 5 carries for 14 yards, and caught his only target for 9 yards before losing a fumble — still his most complete outing of camp. Kyle Pitts Sr. was the best weapon on the field in the finale, hauling in all 3 of his targets for 59 yards, while Jahan Dotson caught all 3 of his own looks for 27 yards and Zachariah Branch added an 18-yard punt return. Drake London played 8 offensive snaps without showing up in the box score, and Cooper Rush closed the finale 13 of 18 for 106 yards and a touchdown.
Dolphins17-12
Colts34-6
Broncos7-27None of it is a verdict on the regular-season offense — preseason snap counts don't carry over — but it's the shape the staff wanted walking out of camp: touchdowns instead of field goals, and clean reps for the pass-catchers before anything counts. The preseason is done. Everything from here counts toward the record that actually matters, starting in Pittsburgh.
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The defensive line kept adding bodies back this week. Da'Shawn Hand (leg) and Gervon Dexter Sr. (hamstring) were both back at practice Tuesday, Daniel Flick of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, and cornerback Billy Bowman Jr. passed his physical and was activated off the PUP list after an Achilles injury, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston. The practice squad churned too — Bralen Trice is back on it after Khalid Kareem was signed away to San Francisco's active roster, a move 49ers Sign Khalid Kareem, Put Sam Okuayinonu On IR Before Melbourne Opener covers from the 49ers' side.
There's QB room news too: Jack Strand is one of four quarterbacks who made Atlanta's 53-man roster, Will McFadden of the team's official site reports, even as the Falcons remain the only team in the league without a named Week 1 starter, a subplot the newsdesk has been tracking in Falcons Still Haven't Named Penix Jr. Or Tua Their Week 1 Starter. None of it settles the competition itself, but a front that bled three players to injured reserve last week — Keshawn Banks, JD Bertrand and Anterio Thompson among them — getting two starters back to full practice is exactly the kind of week that group needed.
A trip to Pittsburgh, and a Steelers secondary still sorting itself out
It's Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh to open the regular season, and the Steelers arrive with their own preseason bruise — Pittsburgh finished its exhibition slate 1-2, dropping the finale 28-27 at Buffalo. The bigger story on that side of the ball is the secondary: safety DeShon Elliott was unexpectedly placed on injured reserve for the first four games, which beat writer Mike DeFabo of Steelers Nation called "a significant blow" to a group that was already thin, leaving Rayshawn Jenkins, Jaquan Brisker and seventh-round rookie Robert Spears-Jennings at the position. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey's role in new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham's scheme is still unsettled too, with Ramsey only recently back to full practice — DeFabo wrote there's been "no real way to gain any clarity on where he might be deployed once the season begins."
The line opened with Pittsburgh favored by 3.5, and the total was set at 42.5 — a low number for a game between an offense that spent camp chasing touchdowns instead of field goals and a defense that still doesn't know how it's lining up its own secondary. Whichever quarterback jogs out for Atlanta will be doing it against a Steelers team just as unsettled behind the scenes as the Falcons are in front of the cameras.