NFL Network reporter Mike Garafolo reports on Thursday morning that former New Orleans Saints linebacker Monty Rice is being signed by the Atlanta Falcons. Rice, 25, was released by the Saints on Tuesday. Garafolo reports that Atlanta will add Rice onto their practice squad initially.

Rice was originally a third-round choice in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans out of Georgia. He played his first three seasons with the Titans. Over that span he accumulated 128 total tackles, including six for loss, in 35 game appearances and 10 starts. He was waived late last season, where he was picked up by the Saints for their practice squad to finish the year.

Rice was part of a close and hotly contested competition at linebacker for New Orleans this summer. In the preseason opener against Arizona, Rice led all defenders with seven tackles, adding three more stops in the finale against Tennessee.

Despite Rice’s play, the Saints elected to keep Demario Davis, Willie Gay Jr., Pete Werner, Anfernee Orji, D’Marco Jackson, and Jaylan Ford at linebacker on their initial 53-man squad. New Orleans then added linebackers Isaiah Stalbird and Khaleke Hudson to their practice squad on Wednesday.

Rice will be joining other former Saints David Onyemata, Kaden Elliss, and Kentavious Street on the Atlanta defense. The Falcons host the Saints in a Week 4 matchup on September 29. They’ll have a rematch against each other in Week 10 on November 10 in New Orleans.

The Saints and Falcons have one of the most bitter rivalries in the NFL. Their all-time series is tied at 55 wins each. New Orleans has won 10 of the last 13 meetings between these teams and is 25-11 against Atlanta since 2006.

With the addition of LB Monty Rice, there will be another face familiar with both sides in this heated rivalry. The two teams split their season series last year. New Orleans finished the season at 9-8 and tied for the NFC South lead. Atlanta finished at 7-10, their sixth consecutive losing season and third straight with double-digit losses.

Here is the breakdown of where the Atlanta Braves currently stand.

They have a 72-60 record and have won 12 of their last 17 games. They sit in second place in the National League East and possess the third NL wild card spot with a three-game cushion over the New York Mets.

They also quietly have one of the best records against teams over .500 this season at 48-34. Keep that in mind for October. 

After last season when they tore up the league in the regular season, this sounds like a bit of a letdown. They’ve also been barely holding their head above water at times. However, the Atlanta Braves know as well as any team in baseball how meaningful a regular-season record is come playoff time.

Injuries have piled up with the need to keep finding replacement players to plug in. Come to think of it, the more we look at the situation, the more it’s impressive that they are in their current position. 

Let’s look at who has been injured so far this season, both out for the season and who has missed significant time:

This doesn’t include guys who missed less than 30 days, such as starting pitchers Max Fried and Reynaldo Lopez. These are injuries that should have done a team in. How is being a playoff spot even possible? 

It came down to good management and the eagerness to step up and prove your worth. General manager Alex Anthopoulos has played chess with the roster. He found guys whose careers have seen better days and revived their careers. How’s that Chris Sale acquisition looking?

Multiple guys who were released by their previous teams just this season have looked stellar in Atlanta. The second chance got some players eager to show they still got it. 

Credit to manager Brian Snitker as well. Parts of the fan base have been throwing shade at him this season. While it’s not completely unwarranted, it takes a strong manager to hold things as well as he has together. 

He had some moves that paid off for a time. Jarred Kelenic was put in the lead-off spot and the Braves went on a nice run for a bit. Putting Lopez in the rotation led to an All-Star selection. Even just on Tuesday night, he put Michael Harris in the sixth spot in the order and he had himself a night. 

I’m not going to start saying that they should hand over the Manager of the Year Award to him. Let’s not get too crazy. But he should get some credit. 

Also, not to be that guy, but the power-of-friendship argument can be made here too. This is a tight-knit group of players in this clubhouse – some of these guys have been together for a few seasons now. The recent additions have fit right in with that. That band-of-brothers mentality can help a group overcome quite a number of obstacles. 

There’s still a month to play. A lot can happen. But despite the ups and downs, they still get to worry about September and possibly October. It’s quite a miracle taking place on the diamond.

In the 2024 offseason, the Atlanta Hawks made their fair share of moves. They’ve added good rotation pieces to the roster in Dyson Daniels and Larry Nance Jr, traded away former All-Star guard Dejounte Murray, drafted Zaccharie Risacher with the first overall pick, re-signed Vit Krejci on a long-term deal and signed Summer League standout Keaton Wallace to a two-way contract.

They did not trade either of Clint Capela or DeAndre Hunter, who stick out as the most obvious trade candidates. Capela’s lack of secondary skills outside of his rebounding and his waning defensive skills do not match up with his $22.2 million dollar salary. On the other hand, Hunter is a solid two-way wing whose injury history and inconsistent play have not merited the cap hits of $21 million, $23 million and $24 million that he has for the next three seasons. Trading either of them for a solid return could have also impacted the quality of this offseason.

Dan Favale of Bleacher Report recently ranked the biggest win and loss of the 2024 offseason for every team in the NBA – including the Hawks. Unsurprisingly, he had the trade of Dejounte Murray as the biggest loss for the Hawks. Favale had this to say about Murray’s departure:

“Trading Murray stings on three fronts. It is first and foremost an admittance that the Hawks never should have acquired him. After that, Atlanta must grapple with having accepted a largely future-focused return despite not really controlling its own future. (See: Draft obligations to San Antonio). And finally, regardless of how you feel about his fit or the return on his departure, the Hawks are now tasked with replacing 22.5 points, 6.4 assists and 7.1 three-point attempts per game.”

I do think there were several candidates for the Hawks’ biggest win of the NBA offseason. Landing Dyson Daniels, getting the first overall pick and getting back into the 2025 NBA draft by way of the Dejounte Murray trade all stick out as candidates. However, Favale ultimately went with the headliner and suggested landing the No. 1 overall pick was Atlanta’s biggest win of the offseason. He had this to say about winning the draft lottery:

“Winning the draft lottery is a HugeFreakingDeal for a franchise that doesn’t control its next three first-rounders. Whether you think the Atlanta Hawks made the most of that pick is debatable. Zaccharie Risacher seems more plug-and-play than conventional star prospect. But 1) we can’t know for sure until he plays the games, and 2) that’s not the end of the world. Risacher’s hustle in transition and half-court floor navigation will translate, and his value skyrockets should he consistently bang in triples, even if only from the corners. Also, even with De’Andre Hunter and Dyson Daniels in the fold, Risacher is likely Atlanta’s best shot at having someone next season who qualifies as a two-way wing.”

Overall, I agree with his assessment that landing Risacher was Atlanta’s biggest win of the offseason. His ceiling may be in question, but he clearly offers skills that the Hawks need right now on their roster. His defense in transition and at the point-of-attack, promise as a shooter and connective passing will all gel next to a potential star duo of Trae Young and Jalen Johnson. Whatever the case, the No. 1 pick is often transformative for franchises – for better or worse – and landing it clearly has the highest potential to improve Atlanta’s fortunes.

Murray’s loss is also significant, but I think it is significant in the amount of good it can do for the roster. Last year, Murray had the second-worst defensive box plus-minus of his career and accrued the second lowest defensive win shares of his career as well. Advanced stats don’t tell the full story on defense, but Murray looked fairly uncomfortable guarding anyone other than point guards last year. His defensive impact was overstated and his shot attempts are now avalaible for Johnson and Risacher. Ultimately, ceding more offense to those two should allow for a smoother fit around Young, which is what ultimately matters for the 2024-25 Atlanta Hawks.