FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons have placed inside linebacker Troy Andersen on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list ahead of the team's first training camp practice Thursday. Still, Raheem Morris expressed optimism about Andersen's return.
"He is on track," Morris said. "He's doing really well. He's in great spirits and he looks amazing."
According to the league rules, a PUP designation prior to training camp does not affect the 90-man roster limit. In order to play in the 2025 season, Andersen will need to be activated off PUP by the end of camp. Similar to injured reserve in-season rules, a player returning to action off PUP must miss the first four games of the season.
The main effect of this move is furthering the importance of Divine Deablo on this defense. Deablo was a free agency addition to the team this offseason. Coaches have explained throughout the offseason that Deablo is someone they believe in as a starting option alongside Kaden Elliss.
"I've been really pleased with what he's done, Divine. I've been really pleased with the character, really pleased in how he's fit into our football team," Morris said in the spring. "I've been really pleased how our locker room has accepted him and brought him in and really embraced him."
As for Andersen, the placement on PUP is an unfortunate development for a player with high upside, but an injury history that has simply kept him from finding any type of playing consistency.
Andersen saw action in seven games in 2024, making four starts. He shined in the Falcons' Week 4 win over the New Orleans Saints, notching a pick-6 and 17 combined tackles. It was during the fourth quarter of that game when a knee injury occurred. Andersen missed the next four games, and though he did attempt to come back after the team's Week 12 bye, the injury lingered enough for Atlanta to place him on injured reserve. It's the same injury that continues to impact him as 2025's training camp gets underway.
All of this comes on the heels of Andersen missing nearly the entirety of his second year with the team in 2023. The speedy inside linebacker suffered a torn pectoral muscle that required surgery in the first month of the season.
This has been the marker of Andersen's career with the Falcons since being drafted in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He flashes when he's had the opportunity to play, but those opportunities have been few and far between.
Again, Morris' comments Thursday morning reflect a coach that does intend for Andersen to return to action by the preseason's end. If he does not, he will be placed on the reserve/PUP list, which would end his 2025 season before it even starts. Morris' answers Thursday morning to questions about the linebacker position does not seem to be evidence of Andersen trending that way.
"I think it is a deeper group than it was," Morris said in response to a question regarding the lack of attention being paid to the inside linebacking core. "It's a healthier group than it was. So, I think it's not talked about because of the health of the guys coming back. Last year, we were hit by injuries pretty good, and it really rattled us a little bit at times, but we found ways to work around it."
Still, how Andersen progresses with the extra time off the field through the preseason will be something to monitor as the regular season — and a PUP designation — times out.
