Raheem Morris Confirms Three Falcons Defenders Out for Season

FLOWERY BRANCH – The Atlanta Falcons are officially shutting down three defenders for the remainder of the 2025 season. Falcons head coach Raheem Morris confirmed on Wednesday that linebacker Troy Andersen, edge rusher Bralen Trice, and defensive lineman Zach Harrison will miss the team’s final three games.

“Look forward to getting all those guys back,” Morris said. “[We’ve] got some significant guys out that were contributors, or were looking forward to being contributors for us… They’re going to miss the next three [games].”

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Harrison had a breakout campaign this season, but injuries limited him throughout the year. After playing in the team’s first six games, he missed the next three with a knee injury. He returned for their Week 10 trip to Berlin, but would suffer a setback that would land him on the injured reserve.

The former third-round pick wound up playing in just seven games, but finished with 22 tackles, five tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and a pass defended. He will enter the final year of his rookie contract next season.

Meanwhile, neither Bralen Trice nor Troy Andersen made an appearance for the Falcons this season.

Trice was placed on the injured reserve soon after roster cutdowns in August after he re-injured the knee that kept him out the entirety of the 2024 NFL season. The former third-round pick from the 2024 draft has yet to appear in a game for the Falcons and will be halfway through his rookie contract before playing a single snap.

Similarly, Andersen missed the second half of the 2024 season due to a knee injury that he sustained in a Week 4 matchup with the New Orleans Saints. The former second-round pick would play a few more games that season, but he would eventually land on the injured reserve.

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Andersen has struggled with injuries throughout his NFL career, and it is fair to wonder if the Falcons have seen the last of him in Atlanta. He is in a contract year, but has played in 26 games since joining the Falcons in 2022 – just nine of those have come after his rookie season, as he also missed almost all of the 2023 season due to a torn pectoral muscle.

The Falcons are gearing up to take on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 16, kicking off a three-game stretch that will bring a disappointing 2025 season to an end.