Roster spots are up for grabs as the Atlanta Falcons prepare to take the field for training camp. After getting a slew of depth players and potential impact rookies during the offseason, competition will be high to not only start, but simply make the team. With new head coach Dan Quinn looking to make the team a threat immediately, the pressure is on certain players to make their mark on the field in order to continue wearing a jersey come the fall.
One of the more crowded roster competitions will come in the secondary for the Falcons. Atlanta has No.1 cornerback Desmond Trufant taking his place on the field and then a lot of question marks come after that in regards to who will join him on the other side of the field and who will fill the safety position. According to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com, rookie Jalen Collins is being favored to be an immediate starter for the team, leaving others to battle for spots.
Dezmen Southward is a player on the bubble according to TheFalcoholic.com. The athlete switched to cornerback during the offseason in order to help his chances of being productive. An injury suffered in workouts is not helping his chances of a roster spot as he needs to heal quickly in order to begin impressing coaches. With Collins now on the roster and Robert Alford staying at cornerback rather than moving to safety, Southward is on notice in training camp.
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Alford will remain at cornerback this season and is not expected to face getting released this year. However, he is guaranteed nothing is the season does not work out well for him. Alford told the media that he is aware he needs to make an impact this season and improve his play.
"We would try anybody if we thought it could make the team better at that," Quinn said, via ESPN.com. "He looks so good outside right now. We've talked about (free safety), but we haven't made the decision to do that just because he's really on it just in terms of playing outside."
Certain players will likely benefit from Alford staying at cornerback. Kemal Ishmael is a bubble player heading into training camp as he battles for a safety spot. The Falcons have William Moore as a guaranteed starter while Charles Godfrey signed in the offseason. They will push Ishmael early and if he fails to make the most of the opportunity, he could be one of the early cuts come the end of camp.
