Raheem Morris Poaches Falcons for Former Player

The Atlanta Falcons have been busy since releasing their initial 53-man roster last Sunday. They were awarded three waiver claims on Monday, which necessitated making three additional cuts.

Among the additions were edge rushers Jared Ivey from the Seahawks and Yasir Abdullah from the Buccaneers. On Monday afternoon, they signed 15 players to the practice squad, and then immediately started making changes.

Defensive end Zach Harrison was one of the players cut to make room for Ivey, and he was re-signed to the practice squad on Wednesday afternoon, along with edge rusher Khalid Kareem and safety Jammie Robinson.

On Friday evening, we got a quick reminder that having a player on the practice squad offers no protection from other clubs. In essence, they are free agents. Another team can sign a player off any team's practice squad, but they must put that player on the 53-man active roster right away.

After roughly 48 hours back with the Falcons, Kareem was poached off the practice squad by former head coach Raheem Morris, now the defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers. The Falcons filled the spot created by the loss of Kareem by signing star-crossed defender Bralen Trice.

Kareem joined the Falcons in 2024, the same year as Morris. He bounced on and off the practice squad for the next two seasons and played in six games with Atlanta. He had 11 tackles without a sack, but he did register a tackle for loss last year.

He was originally a fifth-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals and played in 16 games with them as a rookie in 2020. The former Notre Dame Fighting Irish product spent two years in Cincinnati before playing a season with the Colts and another with the Bears in 2022 and 2023.

Kareem's signing by the 49ers had Morris' fingerprints all over it with the familiarity, but it's interesting that an NFC Powerhouse is raiding the Falcons' practice squad. The Falcons are without former first-round picks Jalon Walker, who is out for the season, and James Pearce Jr., who is suspended for the first eight games. Yet, they couldn't find a spot for Kareem on the 53-man roster, but the 49ers can?

That speaks well of the depth general manager Ian Cunningham has built at the position through various methods, even with the attrition.

Morris was the head coach for the Falcons in 2024 and 2025 and posted back-to-back 8-9 records. He was part of a housecleaning in Atlanta led by owner Arthur Blank. Blank reassigned CEO Rich McKay and fired both Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot.

Blank hired Matt Ryan as the President of Football for the Falcons. Ryan then went on to hire two-time NFL Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski as head coach and Cunningham as general manager.

The 49ers visit the Falcons on Sunday, October 25th. It's a Week 7 matchup that will pit Morris against his former team, less than a year removed from being fired by the Falcons.

First, though, the Falcons must face the Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday at 1 p.m. EST in Pittsburgh. The Falcons have yet to name a starting quarterback. Will whoever starts in Pittsburgh still be the starter in Week 7?

So many questions for this Falcons team, and after a busy offseason, we're seven days away from getting some answers.

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