FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — More than two years after the Atlanta Falcons selected him, Bralen Trice made his long-awaited regular-season debut against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
A third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Trice spent most of his first two years as a pro recovering from a knee injury he sustained in his first preseason game against the Miami Dolphins. The path back from that injury hasn't been smooth for Trice, but his perseverance was rewarded with 14 snaps for Atlanta as part of the defensive line rotation.
"It was amazing for me, coming off those two years and injuries," Trice said. "It was a lot of work, but being elevated last week, especially after getting released, cut, and then them bringing me back, I was so grateful to be able to have that chance again to really show myself and show what I'm about. Having them elevate me was an extreme blessing. It felt so good to go out there finally and do it. I can't really say much more about it except I just had the time of my life, finally."
Trice was a standout player for the University of Washington from 2021-23, where he recorded 18 sacks, 28.5 tackles for a loss and was a team captain in his final season. Upon arriving in Atlanta, Trice flashed in his first training camp and built real anticipation for how he could develop throughout his first season. He never got that chance.
Trice spent his rookie season diligently rehabbing his knee at the team facility and seemed ready to resume his career in Year 2. He practiced throughout training camp and appeared in two preseason games for the Falcons in 2025, but Trice was placed on injured reserve shortly after roster cutdowns. Although there was hope he would return at some point in the season, he never did.
This offseason, Trice was again ready to go by the time summer rolled around.
As part of the Falcons' defensive line rotation, Trice received a lot of work early on in training camp. He did not play in the first two preseason games but saw extensive time in the third, logging 23 snaps for the defense and 12 on special teams against the Miami Dolphins. Despite the work, Trice did not initially make the team's 53-man roster.
"It was rough having that week where I was released, but I just thank God that he kind put me in check and was like, 'Hey man, I'm going to take you away from it for a second and bring you back and show you what it really means to you,' Trice said. "It was less rewarding; more so, I was mentally like, go out there and give it my all, knowing that this could be taken away like that."
Trice was signed to Atlanta's practice squad shortly afterwards and subsequently elevated to the 53-man roster for the team's season opener and his first true NFL game.
"Good to finally get Bralen out there, and I think good for him," Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday. "Like any first time out there, he's not a rookie, but for all intents and purposes, he is. There's plenty to improve upon, but glad that he was out there and we can build off of that."
It took two years for Trice to see the field in a regular-season game, but with that under his belt, he's ready to see what he can accomplish as part of a hard-working defensive line room.
"The way we practice, it makes coming out to the game easy," Trice said. "So, I'm just grateful that I have coaches that put in the work, and a room that puts in the work to play next to and get experience from every single day. And moving forward, I think doing what we do every day is just stacking those days. We come in every single day with a mindset that we're going to win, and we're going to give it our all. We're going to run to the ball and go full speed. I think that can carry us a long way towards our goals."
