Falcons Fill 16th Spot on Practice Squad
NFL teams are allowed to carry 16 players on their practice squads. The Atlanta Falcons signed linebacker James Vaughters on Friday as the final member of their team.
Vaughters doesn't fit the typical profile of players on the practice squad. At 28 years old, he's considerably older than the bulk of the squad made up of players in their first or second year out of college. He went to Tucker High School in Tucker, Ga., a northeast suburb of Atlanta. He went on to Stanford as a member of the Class of 2011.
READ MORE: Falcons Rookie gets Big Opportunity
Vaughters was initially signed as an undrafted free agent by the Green Bay Packers in 2015, but he was released after an injury settlement.
He spent the past two seasons with the Chicago Bears. He bounced between the practice squad and the active roster in 2019, but he saw action in 14 games last season. He had 22 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 2020.
Vaughters is the second Georgia prep star to be brought back to Atlanta this week. Thursday the Falcons announced they had signed Wayne Gallman to the 53-man roster. Gallman played at Grayson High School before starring at Clemson.
Here's a look at the 16-man practice squad. Two of these players are eligible to be brought to the active roster every game week. The veteran Vaughters is a good candidate to see game action with the Falcons.
Atlanta Falcons Practice Squad
Pos. Name
CB Chris Williamson
DL Chris Slayton
LB Emmanuel Ellerbee
LB Quinton Bell
LB George Obinna
LB James Vaughters
OL Willie Beavers
OL Sam Jones
OL Ryan Neuzil
RB D'Onta Foreman
RB Caleb Huntley
S Dwayne Johnson
TE John Raine
TE David Wells
WR Juwan Green
WR Austin Trammell
