Falcons Week 5 inactives: Kyle Pitts, DeAngelo Malone among those not playing Sunday

Bryan Edwards, meanwhile, makes what we hope is a triumphant return to the active roster.

We knew the Falcons would be without Kyle Pitts today, so seeing his name on the list of Atlanta’s inactives is no great surprise. It’s still unfortunate, however.

In addition to Pitts, the Falcons have rookie edge rusher DeAngelo Malone, undrafted free agent wide receiver Jared Bernhardt, veteran tackle Chuma Edoga, and inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski on the list this week. Bernhardt plays sparingly when he’s active while he develops, Edoga has been the team’s last offensive lineman most weeks, and Kwiatkoski is a seemingly weekly inactive, so none of those players are surprises. Malone is, however, given that he’s been impactful in his limited snaps to this point.

The Falcons have Bryan Edwards and Matt Dickerson active this week, something that hasn’t happened all that often this year. Edwards had been on the inactive list the past two weeks, but without Pitts in the game the rangy receiver ought to actually get some work. He’s young and has plenty of talent, showing it in his opportunities with the Raiders, but early on in 2022 he and Marcus Mariota had trouble connecting and thus he was parked in favor of other options. If the offense is going to hum today, it will help if Edwards is a factor.

Dickerson, meanwhile, will help out on the defensive line with Anthony Rush being cut earlier this week. Abdullah Anderson and Timothy Horne will likely have larger roles with Rush gone, but Dickerson is familiar with Dean Pees from their shared past and should be able to carve out a decent-sized role today.

Tampa Bay, meanwhile, will be down a few essential men. Julio Jones will miss yet another game as he seemingly can’t get healthy enough to play, which is depressing but does help Atlanta’s pass defense. Fellow wide receiver Breshad Perriman and tight end Cameron Brate will also be out, meaning Tom Brady will be working with a depleted corps of pass catchers this week. Russell Gage and Chris Godwin are active, however.

The Buccaneers defense will also be without safety Logan Ryan and defensive lineman Akiem Hicks, which should help a Falcons offense missing Pitts and Cordarrelle Patterson as they try to get rolling today.

We’ll hope both Edwards and Dickerosn can contribute, and that Pitts will be healthy soon. Kickoff is a little over an hour away.