The Atlanta Falcons traded for Wanya Morris in June to help solve one of their clearest depth concerns. Less than three months later, he is already gone.
Atlanta waived Morris on Aug. 30 while trimming its roster to 53 players. The Falcons made a trade for the veteran tackle with the Kansas City Chiefs on June 16, sending a 2027 sixth-round pick to Kansas City for Morris and a 2027 seventh-rounder.
The draft cost was small, but moving on this quickly makes the trade notable. It also leaves Atlanta with the same question it was trying to answer when it acquired Morris in the first place.
Both Bleacher Report and CBS Sports highlighted the decision as one of the NFL's more surprising roster cuts, with Bleacher Report suggesting the Falcons may not be finished adding help at tackle.
When Atlanta made the deal in June, Morris looked like a relatively inexpensive way to add experienced depth behind Jake Matthews and free-agent addition Jawaan Taylor .
Morris had appeared in 43 games with 16 starts over three seasons in Kansas City . The former third-round pick had also spent much of his Chiefs career backing up Taylor.
That apparently wasn't enough to earn him a place on Atlanta's initial roster.
CBS Sports' Carter Bahns ranked Morris among the NFL's 12 most surprising cuts and pointed directly to how quickly the Falcons abandoned the move.
Bahns wrote that cutting Morris only two months after surrendering draft capital was "telling of how little he impressed them" during his time in Atlanta.
Bleacher Report's Moe Moton also included Morris among the biggest surprises from cutdown weekend. Moton noted that Atlanta did not give up premium draft capital, but Morris was brought in specifically because the offensive line lacked established tackle depth.
The Falcons' decision leaves Matthews and Taylor as the obvious starters, with rookie seventh-round pick Ethan Onianwa and Michael Jerrell as the other tackles on the initial 53-man roster.
Storm Norton , another veteran tackle option, remains on reserve/PUP.
That is where Morris' release becomes more than a failed June roster move.
The Falcons still have two pocket-oriented quarterbacks in Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr . competing for the starting job, making protection on the edges particularly important if either Matthews or Taylor misses time.
Jerrell has appeared in 19 games over his first two NFL seasons but has played only 282 offensive snaps. Onianwa has yet to play a regular-season snap.
Moton suggested Atlanta "could be in search of an experienced veteran" who is not subject to waivers.
That would make sense given what the Falcons already told everyone with the Morris trade.
General manager Ian Cunningham was willing to move down a round in the 2027 draft to bring in a tackle with starting experience. Waiving Morris before he ever played a regular-season game for Atlanta doesn't suddenly make that need disappear.
If anything, it reinforces it.
There will be new options available as teams sort through waiver claims and veteran releases following roster cuts. Atlanta does not have to force a move, especially if the coaching staff is comfortable with Onianwa or Jerrell.
But the Falcons clearly went into the summer believing they needed another tackle.
Morris was supposed to be part of that answer. His quick exit now leaves Atlanta with limited proven insurance behind Matthews and Taylor — and a reason to keep shopping before Week 1.
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