Falcons make changes to 53-man roster ahead of Week 18 game vs. Saints

The Atlanta Falcons placed cornerback Mike Hughes on the injured reserve list due to an ankle injury and signed edge rusher Khalid Kareem off of the practice squad in a corresponding move. Hughes was having a solid season before injuring his ankle in the team's Week 15 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Falcons will look to undrafted free agent Cobee Bryant and others to help fill in for Hughes in Sunday's season finale against the New Orleans Saints. Bryant has started the last two games in relief of Hughes.

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Kareem was elevated for Atlanta's Monday night win over the Los Angeles Rams and came up with a key stop on fourth down in the red zone. The veteran edge rusher should get more playing time in Week 18 with Brandon Dorlus ruled out.

Atlanta also signed punter Trenton Gill to the practice squad, filling the spot left by Kareem. Check out the Falcons' updated 53-man roster and practice squad entering Week 18 below.

Quarterback (2)

• Kirk Cousins (18)

• Easton Stick (12)

Running back (3)

• Bijan Robinson (7)

• Tyler Allgeier (25)

• Nathan Carter (38)

Wide Receiver (7)

• Darnell Mooney (1)

• Drake London (5)

• Dylan Drummond (81)

• Casey Washington (82)

• Deven Thompkins (83)

• Malik Heath (86)

• David Sills V (87)

Tight End (4)

• Kyle Pitts (8)

• Feleipe Franks (84)

• Teagan Quitoriano (85)

• Charlie Woerner (89)

Offensive Line (9)

• Jovaughn Gwyn (52)

• Chris Lindstrom (63)

• Ryan Neuzil (64)

• Matthew Bergeron (65)

• Kyle Hinton (68)

• Jack Nelson (69)

• Jake Matthews (70)

• Elijah Wilkinson (71)

Defensive line (6)

• Brandon Dorlus (54)

• David Onyemata (90)

• Kentavius Street (93)

• LaCale London (94)

• Ruke Orhorhoro (98)

• Elijah Garcia (91)

EDGE (5)

• Jalon Walker (11)

• Arnold Ebiketie (17)

• James Pearce Jr. (27)

• Leonard Floyd (56)

ILB (5)

• Ronnie Harrison (36)

• JD Bertrand (40)

• Josh Woods (42)

• Kaden Elliss (55)

Cornerback (6)

• Dee Alford (20)

• A.J. Terrell (24)

• Mike Ford (28)

• C.J. Henderson (30)

• Natrone Brooks (35)

• Cobee Bryant (37)

Safety (3)

• Jessie Bates III (3)

• Xavier Watts (31)

• Jammie Robinson (34)

Specialists (3)

• Zane Gonzalez (45)

• Bradley Pinion (13)

• Liam McCullough (49)

Falcons 16-man practice squad

• P Trenton Gill (32)

• DL Patrick Jenkins (TBD)

• LB Eugene Asante (53)

• S Tysheem Johnson (41)

• QB Kyle Trask (16)

• OL Andrew Stueber (74)

• DL Ben Stille (90)

• CB A.J. Woods (42)

• RB Carlos Washington (26)

• WR Chris Blair (19)

• TE Joshua Simon (47)

• OL Joshua Gray (67)

• K Lenny Krieg (46) IPP

Reserve/Injured list

• CB Mike Hughes

• DL Sam Roberts (designated to return)

• S DeMarcco Hellams (designated to return)

• WR KhaDarel Hodge

• CB Billy Bowman Jr.

• DL Zach Harrison

• QB Michael Penix Jr.

• LB DeAngelo Malone

• OT Storm Norton

• OL Tyrone Wheatley Jr.

• DL Bralen Trice

• QB Emory Jones

• OT Kaleb McGary

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Reserve/Physically unable to perform list

• LB Troy Andersen

Reserve/Non-football injury list

• LB Malik Verdon

Sunday's game starts at 1 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Falcons are favored but the Saints have won four straight games.

This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Atlanta Falcons: Khalid Kareem replaces Mike Hughes in Week 18