Atlanta Falcons Get Better of Tennessee Titans in 1st Joint Practice

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga – The Atlanta Falcons kicked off their most important two-day window of the summer, welcoming the Tennessee Titans to Flowery Branch for the first of two joint practices.

“These are things I really love, the highly competitive [practices] and going against a different color [jersey],” head coach Raheem Morris said before the joint practice on Tuesday. “High level energy, high physicality, simulate that game-like structure versus another team with really skillful players.”

The Falcons did not play any of their offensive starters during their first preseason game against the Lions, so Tuesday’s practice was the first chance to see those players against a different opponent. While there were not many true tackles or hits on any quarterbacks, this was still a very competitive practice that shone a bright light on several important players for both franchises.

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Morris said a day like this is more “high-level” as compared to a standard preseason game, where the looks would be significantly more “vanilla,” calling it more “man-versus-man.” Today, the Falcons’ staff was able to get a true, simulated slate of best versus best.

“You see who your guys are,” defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus said afterwards. “These guys don’t care about you. The people out here from other teams are trying to earn a job… You can't come out here and lose your money.”

While there wasn’t a scoreboard to ultimately judge the teams, the Falcons appeared to perform well on the first of the two very important days.

Player Status Updates

Before practice, Raheem Morris updated the status of several players.

Most notably, Darnell Mooney’s status is “still the same,” and he provided little in terms of any potential timetable for Week 1. He did say he was considered “week to week,” but that he feels good about him being back and healthy at some point. Morris stopped short of saying when.

Other players Morris mentioned included the following: Cornerback Clark Phillips III, who has been absent for the last few practice periods dating back to last week, was said to be day-to-day with a rib injury; running back Carlos Washington was announced to have sustained a hamstring injury; primary return man Jamal Agnew is dealing with a “small issue” that came up last week, but will be back shortly; and linebacker Caleb Johnson was absent due to a personal reason.

As far as Friday’s game with the Titans, Morris confirmed that Michael Penix Jr would not partake, but left the door open for a potential Kirk Cousins showing. He says they will know more by the end of the joint practices this week. Younghoe Koo was also announced to be the starting kicker for Friday’s game after Lenny Krieg played the Lions last week.

Cornerback Cobee Bryant was seen at practice, but was not in uniform. Offensive lineman Storm Norton was not seen today.

DeAngelo Malone Cross-training with Inside Linebackers

One of the bigger situational notes from the Falcons’ first preseason game was the positioning of former third-round pick DeAngelo Malone. The pass rusher played in all 17 games in 2024, but most of his work has come on special teams or along the edge. On Friday night, Malone was seen lined up with the first team defense at inside linebacker.

“DeLo [DeAngelo Malone] was awesome in the game,” Morris said before practice. “I love what he brought at inside linebacker, he made a couple plays. I think his cross-training and what he does is always special, because he is a very specific player that we can put in certain situations like we did last year.”

Malone should, again, be featured on special teams this season, but the Falcons are being very intentional with how they are trying to add layers to his game.

Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich echoed those thoughts after practice when he addressed the media, calling players like Malone a “jack of all trades” but a “master of nothing.” Over his three years in Atlanta, Ulbrich highlighted how he’s been used as an edge rusher, as an internal blitzer, and as an off-ball stack linebacker, but has rarely been in one place long enough to put everything together.

“We're going to master something for DeAngelo Malone,” Ulbrich said. “We made a concerted effort this offseason to say you're going to become a stacked linebacker first, and then we'll start to toy around with the other stuff.”

The versatility could prove to be valuable for the defense, and Ulbrich compared Malone to what they have in veteran linebacker Kaden Elliss. He likened their compatible versatility to that of a “superpower.”

“It's really cool to see him emerging as a legitimate stack linebacker,” Ulbrich finished. “And an uper-echelon one. Now that you add that to all the other stuff that we know he can do, as far as blitz internally and come off the edge and do all that he does, it's really cool.”

Calvin Ridley Returns to Flowery Branch

The Falcons' former No. 26 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft made his return to Flowery Branch on Tuesday for the first time since they traded him to Jacksonville in 2022. Despite the unceremonious end in Atlanta, Ridley still has a fan in head coach Raheem Morris.

"I was a Calvin Ridley fan when I left, I was a Calvin Ridley fan when I was gone, and I'm a Calvin Ridley fan now," Morris told reporters. "Everything he's done since he left here, you make mistakes, you learn from them, you grow."

Ridley matched up with AJ Terrell Jr for several reps, and the pair went back and forth in their one-on-one drills. Terrell won a few routes, but the elite route runner also showed the fans in attendance that he’s still got it.

Not on @ajterrell_8’s watch 🔥 pic.twitter.com/0zIRke5F0J
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 12, 2025

A couple 1v1 reps of Calvin Ridley and A.J. Terrell pic.twitter.com/GkFys628lA
— Tori McElhaney (@tori_mcelhaney) August 12, 2025

Drake London Looks Like a Problem

The Falcons’ number one receiver was a strong performer on day one of joint practices. He started the morning off with this fantastic grab during one-on-ones with cornerback Amani Oruwariye.

Drake London makes a great catch against Amani Oruwariye and gets the crowd going pic.twitter.com/L95AKOXbfv
— Garrett Chapman (@gchapatl) August 12, 2025

London created lots of separation against the Titans' defensive backs during team drills, too. His connection with Penix has been strong throughout camp, and the pair linked up for four catches during the team period today (of the total 13 passes).

Other Notes

Forcing turnovers: After A.J. Terrell broke up a pass, the ball rocketed skyward. That gave safety Jessie Bates enough time to get under it and return the interception for a touchdown during the 2:00 drill at the end of practice. Cornerback Mike Hughes also punched out a fumble during team drills that he returned for a touchdown, while Mike Ford picked off a wayward Cam Ward pass in the same period.

Michael Penix looked very sharp today, highlighted by a Casey Washington post route on a 50-yard touchdown.

Cam Ward looked like he struggled for the Titans this morning. He had several wayward passes, and he threw several interceptions. Rookie growing pains are always to be expected, though, but he did flash some of that special arm talent that evaluators saw at Miami last season.

The pass rush looked very good today. Arnold Ebiketie registered a sack, while Leonard Floyd registered several. As they did on Friday, they did a great job closing the pocket and making things difficult on the Titans’ quarterbacks.

Defensive rotations: Xavier Watts took the first-team reps at safety alongside Bates during the 11-on-11 session. Jalon Walker also took first-team reps with Floyd, David Onyemata, Ruke Orhorhoro, and Zach Harrison.