Falcons named fit for former top-3 overall pick

September 17, 2026

The Atlanta Falcons’ season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday could have gone much worse, but it was pretty bad. In addition to the 20-13 loss Atlanta suffered a couple of injuries.

Star right guard Chris Lindstrom had a concussion and was eventually ruled out to return. He is currently going through the protocol. The Falcons also lost defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand for the season to a torn quad.

Atlanta’s defensive line is definitely not deep enough to afford to lose anybody, so the Falcons might consider bringing in an outside free agent to replace Hand at some point. According to Kristopher Knox at Bleacher Report, they may be a suitor for Solomon Thomas.

“Quality defensive linemen are usually in demand, as injuries at the position make role players like Solomon Thomas even more valuable. The Atlanta Falcons, for example, recently lost Da’Shawn Hand to a season-ending quad tear… Thomas probably isn’t a starter at this stage of his career, but the 30-year-old recorded 27 tackles and three tackles for loss in a rotational role with Dallas last season.”

Thomas played his college ball at Stanford, then went to the San Francisco 49ers at No. 3 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft. He spent four years with the Niners, then moved on to the Raiders for one season, followed by three years with the Jets and one with the Cowboys. Last season Thomas only appeared in one game with the Titans.

All together, Thomas has totaled 18.5 sacks, 53 quarterback hits and 36 tackles for a loss in 132 career games. While he’s never lived up to the expectations that come with being a top-five overall pick he has developed into a solid backup lineman who could help teams like Atlanta that need more depth.