The Atlanta Falcons waived Zach Harrison on Sunday evening as they claimed three players off the league's waiver wire and reset their 53-man roster. To make room, Atlanta also moved Jammie Robinson and Natrone Brooks off the roster.
The move matters now because the Falcons are finalizing the first practice squad of the 2026 season after NFL roster cutdowns, and every spot on the roster carries weight this late in the process. Atlanta added linebacker Yasir Abdullah, linebacker Jared Ivey and offensive tackle Cameron Williams, all while needing to clear enough space to make the transactions work.
For Harrison, the decision closes a three-season run in Atlanta that began when the Falcons selected him in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He appeared in 40 games with eight starts and finished with 81 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss and 8.5 sacks, production that reflects a player used in several roles along the defensive front. The Falcons were not just adding bodies; they were choosing which pieces of the roster could be sacrificed to keep the new ones.
That is the part of roster cutdowns that rarely reads cleanly from the outside. Atlanta brought in help, but the cost was the release of a former third-round pick who had been on the field often enough to matter. What happens next for Harrison is still open: once a player is waived, he is available to be claimed by another team, and if that does not happen, he can remain in the picture as the Falcons build their practice squad.
