Some highlights from the league table:
— Thirteen teams, including the Falcons, chose to keep at least three quarterbacks on their initial 53-man rosters. That’s the same number of teams as in 2023, when the emergency third quarterback rule was implemented, and one more than in 2022. The Falcons kept three in 2023 and two in 2022, so they changed that with the introduction of an emergency third quarterback.
As a reminder, the emergency quarterback rule allows teams to field a third quarterback from the 53-man roster on game day without having him count towards the 48-man active roster. The third emergency quarterback can only enter the game if the starter and backup are injured and/or disqualified. Hence: emergency.
– The Cleveland Browns kept four quarterbacks but only two running backs on their original 53-man roster.
— The Miami Dolphins failed to retain a long snapper, making them the only team to have two designated special teams players on their initial 53-man roster. That extra spot went to the defense, which had one more player than Miami’s offense. Notably, the Dolphins had only four wide receivers on their initial roster, making them the teams with the lowest number in that column, along with the Detroit Lions.
— The Philadelphia Eagles retained 28 defensive players, which is an NFL high, and 22 offensive players, which is an NFL low. The Falcons retained 26 and 24, respectively, and were one of seven teams with that particular combination.
– The Lions and Tennessee Titans had only 52 players on their initial 53-man rosters.
Below is a smaller table that summarizes the large table to show how the Falcons compare to the 2024 league average at each position, along with the highs and lows from across the NFL.
