Falcons reportedly considering punter Thomas Morstead with Dustin Colquitt on reserve/COVID-19 list

Atlanta placed their punter on the reserve/COVID-19 list yesterday, putting Dustin Colquitt’s availability for Sunday in some doubt. The team opened up a spot on the practice squad for what we all presume is going to be a punter, and it appears they’re considering a player Falcons fans should be quite familiar with.

Per D. Orlando Ledbetter at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Falcons are “looking at” longtime Saints punter Thomas Morstead. My expectation at the moment is that he’d join the practice squad, get a one week call-up if Colquitt can’t go, and the Falcons would take their punter situation from there.

Morstead, a one-time Pro Bowler, spent 12 consecutive seasons with the Saints to start his career and averaged 46.5 yards per punt over that span, so the Falcons saw a lot of him. He also frequently handled kickoffs in the earlier part of his career, though he hasn’t for a few years now. The Saints let him go heading into 2021 and he latched on with the Jets, averaging over 48 yards per punt, but New York somewhat surprisingly cut him after seven games and he’s been looking for a new home since. The 35-year-old might find one in Atlanta.

We’ll see if this signing comes to fruition, but Morstead is still good enough that he’d make an excellent one week fill-in and could potentially push Colquitt for the job the rest of the way if Atlanta is looking for competition.