Former Falcon, popular waiver wire target finds new home

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After releasing John Cominsky last week, the former Falcons fourth-round pick was claimed off waivers by the Lions on Tuesday. Atlanta selected the Charleston product in the 2019 NFL draft under the previous regime to be a 4-3 defensive end and kick inside on obvious pass-rushing downs.

He actually turned into a decent rotational piece under Dan Quinn and Raheem Morris. Cominsky played 44% of the defensive snaps during the pair’s final season in Atlanta. However, outside of his 2020 season, Cominsky struggled to find the field.

The Falcons had a total regime change in 2021, which didn’t turn out well for Cominsky. He wasn’t stout enough to play along the interior of Dean Pees’ defense but wasn’t quick or skilled enough to play on the edge full time. Cominsky fell out of favor in the new scheme, leading to his expected release.

The Lions claiming him seems like a great fit on paper. Aaron Glenn‘s defense is much closer to the Falcons’ 4-3 style defense than their current 3-4 switching scheme. He’s got an impressive motor and seemingly fits Dan Campbell‘s knee-biting mentality.

Moreover, Cominsky was an incredibly popular waiver wire target. Eight teams tried to claim him, according to Field Yates, but Detroit had top priority. Even though it was never going to work out in Atlanta for Cominsky, it seemed like a trade for a late-round draft pick could’ve been a possibility, given the amount of action on waivers.

Maybe Terry Fontenot tried, and nothing came to fruition, but if he didn’t, it’d be another misstep for a Falcons regime that has had many in the first couple of years of their tenure.

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