Atlanta Falcons place rookie EDGE Bralen Trice on IR, ending his season

One of the top prospects from the 2024 NFL Draft has been sidelined for the season, with the Atlanta Falcons placing Washington rookie Bralen Trice on the injured reserve. The team announced the news on Sunday.

Trice was injured during the team’s first preseason game on Friday. He suffered a knee injury and had to exit the game in the second quarter.

The injury was confirmed by the team shortly after, with Trice needing assistance off the field after rushing the passer on a third-down play. He was assisted off by two team trainers.

That injury came on the heels of a promising start to the preseason for the former Huskies star.

Bralen Trice had already earned his way up the depth chart to become the backup outside linebacker, slotting in behind Arnold Ebiketie. He figured to make a significant impact during his rookie season.

The Atlanta Falcons selected Trice near the top of the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, taking him with the No. 74 overall pick in the draft. That followed a successful college career for the star pass-rusher.

Trice began his career at Washington in 2019, redshirting during his first season. Then he sat out all of the 2020 campaign, opting out due to COVID-19.

The rest of his career was spectacular.

Bralen Trice played in all 12 games in 2021, his first real playing action. He started two games. His highlight play came when he returned a fumble 72 yards for a touchdown in a win against Arkansas State. He also had two sacks in a game against Arizona State.

From there, things would only look up. He started 12 games in 2022 and played in 13, earning his way onto the 2022 All-Pac-12 First Team. He logged 38 tackles, 12.0 tackles for a loss and 9.0 sacks.

Even facing more scrutiny from opposing offenses in 2023, Trice was still very productive. He secured 49 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss and 7.0 sacks. He also forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and broke up two passes.

For that work, Trice earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors again, while also picking up third-team All-American honors from the Associated Press.

Needless to say, the Bralen Trice injury is an unfortunate one for the Falcons.