What Falcons placing Jaeden Graham on reserve/injured list means for the rest of the tight ends

The Falcons injury bug is going around camp. First, the team waived Sterling Hofrichter and placed him on the injured reserve, and now Jaeden Graham is headed to the reserve/injured list. Unfortunately, it looks to be much more serious than once considered after The Athletic’s Tori McElhaney reported that Graham’s knee injury is expected to be a season-ending one.

Tough development regarding Graham: out for the year with a knee injury. https://t.co/DglTr65m6H

— Tori McElhaney (@tori_mcelhaney) August 5, 2021

In a coordinating move, the Falcons signed journeyman receiver/ kick returner Trevor Davis, who is likely just a camp body. He’s not impressive as a wideout unless it’s a go route, and the Falcons already have a crowded kick/punt returner room. Still, I fully expect Arthur Smith to carry four tight ends, which many speculated Graham to be that fourth tight end, given his receiving prowess. This is a massive blow as Graham’s value on special teams will have to be replaced too.

There are limited free-agent tight ends left on the market, and I assume Terry Fontenot will rely on an internal candidate to take Graham’s place. Still, a few names in free agency could intrigue Fontenot and Smith if nobody from within steps up — Richard Rodgers, Trey Burton, Virgil Green, Josh Hill (retired).

In the 13th episode of Talkin’ Birdy, SportsTalkATL’s Falcons podcast, the trio of hosts gave their predictions on the final 53-man roster. Before this news of Graham’s injury, I made the point that Arthur Smith may choose to go with Parker Hesse or Ryan Becker as the fourth tight end instead of Graham because they’re blocking-first tight ends. With Kyle Pitts and Hayden Hursts on the depth chart, the position group has more receivers than blockers, which led me to believe Smith could want a second blocking tight end behind Lee Smith.

Still, Graham’s upside is intriguing, and this is an unfortunate injury for an ascending player; hopefully, the Falcons bring him back in 2022 to compete for a roster spot.

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