FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — It's been a couple weeks since one of the craziest 24 hours of a Falcons preseason unfolded. Within the span of a day, the Falcons traded a third-round draft pick to New England for edge rusher Matthew Judon and signed safety Justin Simmons to the roster.
On their first day of practice in the week leading up to the Falcons' final preseason game against Jacksonville, head coach Raheem Morris said the Falcons would ease the duo into team activities. He simultaneously assured, though, that both would be ready for Week 1 of the 2024 season.
Asked for a status update on their progress, both physically and mentally with the playbook, Morris said Thursday they were on track, though they are still on different schedules.
Judon is further along, since he was with a team this preseason and was practicing full-time.
"We're already got him beefed up into his rep counts," Morris said. "We got him beefed up into full individual (drills)."
Morris continued by calling Judon a "live wire" individual, stating his high IQ and instincts show up time and again in practice. His personality is already helping Judon jive with the defensive unit, as a whole.
"He brings a little bit of an edge," Morris said, "a little more fun to our practices."
As for Simmons, the Falcons are taking a bit more time acclimating him to live reps. Simmons has been a free agent this offseason so he hasn't had access to team facilities or workout plans. Though he's assured his individual workouts will allow him to not miss a beat, physically, the Falcons don't want to push him too hard too fast. They have revved up his recent reps this week, though.
"With Justin, we're letting the rope out slowly with him and now we're starting to get him in some team play," Morris said. "You're starting to see some of the intelligence of Justin and how fast he can pick it up and communicate with Jessie (Bates) or (Richie) Grant, whoever's out there, or even (Dee) Alford at the nickel spot. (You see) how detailed he is in his work, and just a true, absolute professional."
Asked whether or not Simmons will be ready to meaningfully contribute in their Week 1 matchup with the Steelers, Morris said with confidence that he believes he will.
"How much? That will be determined over the next couple weeks and the preparation that we move toward with the Steelers preparation," the head coach explained, "but I certainly think he's going to be one of the major contributors for us throughout."
So, even though Judon and Simmons are on different work-back schedules, the expectations remain the same. And what Morris has learned about the most recent acquisitions? It's that they fit right in.
"The two guys' personalities are really ringing out," Morris said, "and the character behind both of them -- in their own different way -- are really starting to mesh well with our football team."
