FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons have elevated defensive lineman Zach Harrison for their home opener against the Carolina Panthers.
A third-round draft pick of the Falcons in 2023, Harrison will play in his 41st game for the team on Sunday. The 6-foot-5, 270-pound defender has 81 tackles, 8.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles in his three seasons. He made the team's initial 53-man roster but was waived after the team claimed three players on waivers.
"Those are some of the tough decisions, right?" Cunningham said after roster cutdowns. "We put three claims in. You're guessing what the other 31 teams are going to do, not knowing if you're going to get one claim or three. We were fortunate enough to get three. And you go through it knowing if you get those three claims, what's the decision that you're going to have to make? And once we got that, it's like, as happy as we were, it was a gut punch too, personally, just because I knew that Zach was most likely going to be the option. [I have] a lot of respect for Zach and what he's done."
The Falcons signed Harrison back to their practice squad shortly after he cleared waivers, allowing him to continue to grow in this defense and adding a talented player to their roster. He will make his season debut on Sunday, and Carolina is a fitting opponent, as he earned his first career sack against the Panthers.
Elevation information: Every team can elevate two players from the practice squad to the active roster for each game day. A player can be elevated three times per season. A fourth elevation would require the player to be signed to the 53-man roster.
2026 Falcons Practice Squad Elevations
Week 1: OLB Bralen Trice | TE Nick Muse
Week 2: DL Zach Harrison
