FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons will hold joint practices with the Tennessee Titans before they play in an exhibition game Aug. 15, coach Raheem Morris announced Monday.
The practices are scheduled for Aug. 12-13.
The Falcons held joint practices with the Dolphins in Miami before the past three seasons.
The Falcons started joint practices in 2010, when they hosted the Jaguars and Patriots in Flowery Branch. In 2011, they held joint practices at Jacksonville.
In 2012, the Falcons held a joint practice against the Titans in Dalton. In 2013, the Falcons hosted the Bengals and in 2014 held joint practices in Houston with the Texans.
Former coach Dan Quinn didn’t hold joint practices from 2015 to 2020. He preferred the “iron-sharpens-iron approach” for his team which embraced his “Brotherhood” theme.
The league banned joint practices for the 2020 season because of COVID-19.
Under coach Arthur Smith, the team held joint practices at Miami in 2021 and 2023 and at the Jets in 2022.
Last year, under Raheem Morris, the Falcons held joint practices at the Dolphins.
Former coach Mike Smith liked to use the practices to gauge how his offensive and defensive lines performed. That will be important this season for the Falcons, who have several young players trying to land spots in the rotation along the defensive front.
It will be a good test for rookies Jalon Walker and James Pearce. Also, second-year outside linebacker Bralen Trice is expected back for training camp.
Trice suffered a season-ending Achilles injury during the joint practices with Miami last season.
In 2014, the Falcons offensive line was beaten pretty badly by the Bengals, signally a rough season up front.
Most of the joint practices have gone smoothly.
However, the practice with the Jets in 2022 had a spate of fights before the coaches restored order. Arthur Smith spoke with the Jets, and coaches from the Jets spoke to Falcons to get the players refocused on the practices.
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