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What Falcons signing punter Dustin Colquitt to the practice squad means

Veteran punter comes in after Cameron Nizialek struggled vs. Bucs

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FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Arthur Smith said on Monday that the plan is always to churn the roster, and that included potentially bringing in a punter this week. As it would happen: A punter with quite the resume, one should add.

After a performances that included two shanked punts on Sunday, it was reported the Falcons would bring in punters this week to provide another option in the punt game besides Cameron Nizialek.

"There's a lot of different things you can do these days because of the roster flexibility," Smith said. "(It) gives you a chance to have a little competition if you need it, or a little safety if something goes wrong - which we've done with the (offensive) line."

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Smith compared the situation with Nizialek this week with the situation with Jalen Mayfield last week. The left guard had a less-than-ideal start in Week 1. Smith said he isn't the type to pull someone after a singular poor performance. He used the phrase "jerk the wheel." By Friday, Smith said Mayfield did enough during the week to keep his spot at left guard for the Week 2 game in Tampa.

So, when the head coach was asked if he could see a situation where Nizialek is still the punter come Sunday's Week 3 matchup with the Giants, Smith said "absolutely."

"It's a fine line of not going crazy jerking the wheel," Smith said, "but also giving yourself some options and some competition if we feel like that's best for us."

Bringing in Colquitt - a veteran in this league with a couple Pro Bowl selections and a Super Bowl championship with the Kansas City Chiefs on his resume - is riding that line. Colquitt will have a short week to earn the job over Nizialek, but as Smith said: "Nothing's off the table."

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