Ex-Falcons OL Jalen Mayfield gets second chance with Giants
The Atlanta Falcons didn't even wait until Tuesday's roster deadline to move on from offensive lineman Jalen Mayfield. Instead, they cut the 2021 third-round draft pick three days prior. It's been a series of unfortunate events for the Michigan product, who failed to meet expectations during his rookie year. And it all started in 2021's […]
The Atlanta Falcons didn't even wait until Tuesday's roster deadline to move on from offensive lineman Jalen Mayfield. Instead, they cut the 2021 third-round draft pick three days prior.
It's been a series of unfortunate events for the Michigan product, who failed to meet expectations during his rookie year.
And it all started in 2021's Week 1 season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles when Mayfield was thrown into the starting left guard position: a position that he wasn't too familiar with after playing mostly tackle in college.
Falcons Throw Mayfield Into Fire
The Falcons' original plan was for Josh Andrews to start at left guard, but a broken hand made Mayfield the next man up.
Philly's defense destroyed Atlanta's offensive line and Matt Ryan was sacked three times. Mayfield finished the day with the worst Pro Football Focus grade amongst the offense as the Eagles went on to blow out Atlanta 32-16.
Despite an ugly first NFL start, head coach Arthur Smith elected to keep Mayfield in the starting slot. He finished the 2021 season starting 16 games, tallying 9 penalties, 11 sacks allowed–the most in the league–and a 49.8 PFF grade.
The unfortunate series continued as Mayfield did not get the chance to redeem himself in 2022 due to a back injury, which kept him on injured reserve for the entire year.
Mayfield returned just in time for preseason. However, the Falcons drafted offensive lineman Matthew Bergeron in the second round of April's draft where he battled Matt Hennessy for the left guard spot, leaving Mayfield fighting for his original position at tackle.
But preseason just wasn't enough to showcase why Atlanta should keep him on the 53-man roster for one more year.
The good news is that Mayfield will get another chance after all, but with another team.
Mayfield is En Route to a Fresh Start
The New York Giants signed Mayfield to their practice squad on Thursday, Aug. 31.
The Giants' offensive line is an area of concern heading into the season, so Mayfield will settle in nicely as a depth piece on the practice squad and who knows where things could go for him.
It's worth noting that the Falcons didn't necessarily set Mayfield up for success and that there were few spotlight moments during his rookie year against the Jets and Eagles. But consistency is key and Mayfield will need to find that if he wants another shot at ever starting again.
Let's just hope that the rookie growing pains are out of the way and this is a solid fresh start for him.
Tennessee shouldn’t forget about Kirby Smart’s haughty gesture at the end of the 2022 season
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Featured image via Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
