Falcons re-sign offensive lineman Storm Norton

The team’s Kaleb McGary insurance policy for part of 2023 comes back to fill a similar role in 2024.

The Atlanta Falcons continue to add pieces to their offense, and on Thursday, those additions came in the form of a pair of familiar faces. One of them was a player who is likely to be a critical piece of the offensive line again in 2024, barring a significant investment in the NFL draft.

That would be Storm Norton, who played 14 games last year as the team’s de facto swing tackle, starting three games total at right tackle in place of Kaleb McGary. It’s a signing that ensures some continuity and comfort for Atlanta, which also is bringing back Jake Matthews and McGary as their starting tackles, and is a sensible move given how Norton played last year.

Scooped up after he was cut by the Saints, Norton proved to be a capable fill-in option for McGary. There were bad stretches along the way, as you’d expect for a reserve pressed into action, but Norton was a solid run blocker even if he fell well short of McGary’s standard and played pretty well in pass protection throughout his run. He allowed just a single sack on 283 snaps and was penalized just once.

Given that Norton has starting experience—he manned right tackle for 15 games for the Chargers back in 2021—Norton was a logical choice for the role over less seasoned options. Now that he’s shown offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford (who was retained by Raheem Morris) that he’s a capable player, he ought to be considered the frontrunner for the swing tackle role again in 2024. The only change would be if the team sank an early pick into a tackle with an eye on replacing either McGary or Matthews in 2025; even if they do that, Norton may be able to hang on to a role.

Welcome him back, and we’ll rest easy knowing he’s available if injury strikes at tackle, even if I hope we don’t have to see him in 2024.