Falcons Linebackers at a Turning Point: Trice and Andersen Push for an Impact Season

When the Atlanta Falcons talk about “talent,” the names Bralen Trice and Troy Andersen come up quickly. The problem is that both inside and outside linebacker roles have been a moving target because neither has been able to stay on the field long enough to establish a routine NFL season. As Atlanta’s offseason activity continues, the crossroads is no longer about potential. It is about whether either player can finally convert recovery into sustained participation, starting with practices and eventually showing up at full speed on Sundays.

Trice’s Falcons story began with the 2024 NFL Draft, when Atlanta selected him in the third round with the No. 74 overall pick. From the outset, the investment came with the expectation that he would contribute as a disruptive edge presence or outside linebacker in pass-rush situations, even if the transition period took time. Instead, the injury timeline erased most of that early runway. The team later stated that Trice missed the entirety of the 2024 season with a knee injury, and that he aggravated the same knee in 2025, when Atlanta placed him on injured reserve. Coach Raheem Morris said the team did not know the injury severity at the time and discussed a best-case scenario for return timing. Their season clock matters because it determines how many snaps a developing defender can earn before the roster looks elsewhere.

And for Trice, the rehab progress has been tracked closely even when there was no guarantee it would show up on the practice field quickly. In a training-camp update, the Falcons described his return from an ACL as a major milestone, emphasizing regained range of motion after a long rehab period. By May 19, 2026, head coach Kevin Stefanski addressed the broader status: Trice and Andersen were continuing injury rehab, and Stefanski said he liked the progress, with players in different stages and on a “good timeline.” That kind of language usually means Atlanta is watching functionality in meetings and limited reps before it makes any public assurances about readiness.

The Andersen file is similarly defined by flashes, then setbacks. Andersen, a former second-round pick, saw action in seven games in 2024, including four starts, and delivered a pick-six in Week 4 against the Saints before a knee injury ended his run and sent him to miss several weeks. The Falcons ultimately placed him on injured reserve to close that season, then later carried his recovery into the 2025 offseason. In July 2025, Atlanta placed Andersen on the Physically Unable to Perform list ahead of training camp, and the team stated he still needed to be activated off PUP by the end of camp to play in 2025, with an early-season absence requirement if he returned.

By 2026, the Falcons’ public moves around Andersen carried a clear message: they still viewed him as part of the long-term plan, even after he missed all of 2025 on PUP. On March 9, 2026, Atlanta restructured Andersen’s rookie contract, a decision tied directly to his missed season and the Falcons’ continued commitment to his comeback. The practical effect for Atlanta is simple, his future spot in the lineup depends on health and the ability to handle a full workload. Talent is not the only requirement for linebackers in this league. Durability is the work that has to come first.

What to watch next is not a single decision or a headline moment. It is the pace of reps and whether either linebacker can transition from individual work to full team periods without setbacks. With the Falcons describing their defenders as being in different stages while projecting the rehab process to continue normally, the early 2026 priority is consistency, not spectacle. If Trice and Andersen can stay available long enough to string together meaningful practice time, Atlanta’s defense under Jeff Ulbrich gets a chance to see what these players look like when the injuries stop defining the narrative.