FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — With most of the roster construction work done, the Atlanta Falcons are turning their full attention to the Pittsburgh Steelers as the final week of the preseason closes.
“I know this,” first-year Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said, “the Pittsburgh Steelers have got a flight. They’re coming regardless and you better be ready.”
Morris’ Mike Tomlin impersonation certainly is ready. The two head coaches worked together in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive backs room from 2002 to 2005. Morris credits that time for teaching him a lot about football and perfecting Tomlin’s voice and cadence.
“I always ran the meetings after practice and I would sometimes do it in his voice,” Morris said. “He would lean outside his office and he’d say, ‘You imitating me or you coaching?’ It really wasn’t picking on him. It really was emulating greatness. Nobody could hold a room like Mike Tomlin.”
Tomlin and Morris will meet on the field Sept. 8 when the Steelers come to Mercedes-Benz Stadium at 1 p.m. for the season opener.
Morris and Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot spent the first part of the week trimming their 90-man offseason roster to the 53 mandated by the NFL.
That number dropped to 52 on Thursday with the trade of Taylor Heinicke to the Los Angeles Chargers. The Falcons sent the veteran quarterback to the Chargers for a seventh-round pick in 2025 that could convert into a sixth-round pick if Heinicke meets a playing time milestone.
After moving on from Heinicke, the Falcons could add another quarterback. If they do, that player’s main job this year would be to assist in the development of starter Kirk Cousins and rookie backup Michael Penix Jr. in the meeting room and on the practice field.
The Falcons likely will fill that 53rd spot with a player who is not currently on the practice squad. Atlanta signed offensive lineman Elijah Wilkinson and outside linebacker Khalid Kareem to the practice squad on Thursday and still has one spot to fill.
