The Atlanta Falcons have parted ways with former second-round draft pick, wide receiver James Washington.
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Ari Meirov of the 33rd Team shared the news via Twitter/X.
The Falcons recently signed safety Justin Simmons and later announced that they had released Washington from the team’s 90-man roster. Simmons signed a one-year deal with the team on Sunday before they announced they released the veteran wide receiver.
Washington is now a free agent and can sign with any team in the league. Simmons will now join Jessie Bates, Richie Grant, DeMarcco Hellams, and Micah Abernathy as safety options in Atlanta.
Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
Washington signed with the Falcons in late July and did not record a catch in either of the first two preseason games. The Texas native spent time with the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints last year, but last appeared in a regular season game with the Dallas Cowboys in 2022. Prior to joining the Cowboys, he tested the open market as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his NFL career.
In his five-year career, Washington recorded 114 receptions on 219 targets, 1,629 yards, and 11 touchdowns, with an average of 14.3 yards per reception. The 28-year-old has spent his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the first four years of his career and joined the Cowboys for two games in 2022. He played in 60 games with the Steelers.
He played out the final year of his four-year, $4,501,346 rookie contract, including a $1,353,704 signing bonus, and made a base salary of $1,093,820 for the 2021 season.
The wide receiver, who attended Oklahoma State, was drafted by the Steelers with the No. 60 overall pick in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
Washington’s former team, the Steelers, will face the team that just released him in Week 1 of the 2024 season. The former Oklahoma State Cowboys reunited with Ike Hilliard, who’s currently Atlanta’s wide receivers coach but was also Pittsburgh’s receivers coach during Washinton’s last two years with the team.
Washington could bring a new dimension to an NFL team. He is a strong and physical player who can dig out safeties, run the crossing routes, and possess vertical speed.
Washington was a former four-star recruit from Stamford, Texas, and was ranked 245 nationally, the No. 37 receiver in his class, and the No. 27 player in his home state for the class of 2014. The wide receiver stands at 6 feet and weighs 205 pounds.
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