Falcons Designate AJ Terrell Jr. to Return From IR, Headlining the NFL’s Wednesday Wire

Wednesday in the NFL is paperwork day — the quiet churn of practice squads, injury windows and roster math that decides who is actually available when Sunday gets loud. This Wednesday, October 21, the paperwork had a headline name on it. The Atlanta Falcons announced they have designated cornerback AJ Terrell Jr. to return from injured reserve, according to NFL Trade Rumors, opening his 21-day window to practice before being activated. Terrell is not a depth piece. He is a former first-round pick and one of the highest-paid corners in football, and Atlanta’s defense gets measurably more serious the day he is back on it. Our Sports front is following all of the day’s movement.

What Terrell’s return window actually means

The mechanics matter here, because “designated to return” is one of those phrases fans nod at without fully unpacking. Terrell can practice with the team for up to 21 days before Atlanta must activate him to the 53-man roster or leave him on injured reserve. The clock is now running. Terrell, 27, was selected in the first round by the Falcons out of Clemson in 2020, signed a four-year, $81 million extension before the 2024 season, and is due base salaries of $17 million and $18 million over the final two years of that deal, according to NFL Trade Rumors’ report. He was placed on injured reserve on September 22, sidelining him for a minimum of four games with a groin injury, per NFL Trade Rumors’ earlier report. In 2026 he has appeared in two games, recording six total tackles and two passes defended. Pro Football Rumors’ injured-reserve return tracker lists Terrell as designated for return on October 21, with Atlanta holding seven activations remaining — so there is no roster-activation squeeze forcing the Falcons to rush him. When he is ready, there is room. That is the ideal version of this process, and it is rarely how it goes.

Kansas City and Pittsburgh make their moves

The champions’ division of Wednesday’s wire was busy, too. The Kansas City Chiefs announced they have officially signed linebacker Aiden Fisher to the practice squad and cut running back Nate Carter to make room, according to NFL Trade Rumors. Practice-squad linebacker signings in October are how contenders insure themselves against the injury they have not had yet — Fisher is a name to file away for the week Kansas City’s linebacker room gets thin, because that week almost always comes. In Pittsburgh, the Steelers announced they have released veteran safety Rayshawn Jenkins, per NFL Trade Rumors. Jenkins is the kind of experienced defensive back who rarely stays unemployed long in a league where secondaries lose someone every Sunday; his release in the middle of October says more about Pittsburgh’s numbers game than about whether he can still play.

A full lap around the rest of Wednesday’s wire

San Francisco managed the day’s neatest little loop. The 49ers announced they signed defensive lineman Naquan Jones to the practice squad and released linebacker Eugene Asante in a corresponding move, according to NFL Trade Rumors — one day after reports that the 49ers were releasing Jones himself. Roster churn at the bottom of an NFL team is relentless, and Jones just lived the full cycle in about 24 hours. Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Rams announced three moves, signing outside linebacker Darryl Peterson III from the practice squad to the active roster and adding defensive tackle Jalen Hunt, per NFL Trade Rumors — a busy day in Los Angeles all around, given the receiver question hanging over that team. In Houston, the Texans are signing linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. to the practice squad and placing running back Jawhar Jordan on the practice-squad injured list, according to reporter Aaron Wilson via NFL Trade Rumors. Washington is signing linebacker Austin Keys and tight end Quentin Moore to its practice squad, according to Nicki Jhabvala via NFL Trade Rumors, and Cleveland signed defensive tackle Eric Johnson and released defensive end Nadame Tucker, per Scott Petrak via NFL Trade Rumors.

It has been a busy week in Atlanta beyond Terrell, too. On Monday, October 19, the Falcons officially signed veteran quarterback Andy Dalton and released quarterback Cooper Rush in the corresponding move, according to NFL Trade Rumors. On Tuesday, October 20, Atlanta released linebacker Bralen Trice from the practice squad and signed linebacker TJ Quinn to the practice squad in his place, per NFL Trade Rumors. A team does not churn its quarterback room and its practice squad in the same week it opens its best corner’s return window unless it believes the season in front of it is still worth fighting for — which, in mid-October, is exactly the kind of belief that separates a spoiler from a spectator.

None of those names will lead a highlight show tonight, and that is precisely the point of a Wednesday wire column. NFL seasons are not only won by the stars whose returns lead stories like this one; they are survived, week after week, by the 60th through 70th men on rosters, cycling on and off practice squads as injuries demand. But make no mistake about which move today changes a team’s ceiling. Atlanta’s defense has played a month without its best corner. The 21-day clock that started Wednesday is the first concrete step toward fixing that — and toward the Falcons looking, on the back end, like the team they paid Terrell $81 million to anchor. Watch the activation decision over the next three weeks on our News hub and the Sports desk.