FLOWERY BRANCH -- Safety T.J. Green, a converted cornerback who has not started an NFL game since the 2017 season, is set to start at left cornerback for A.J. Terrell when the Falcons (0-2) face the Giants (0-2) at 1 p.m. at MetLife Stadium.
Terrell suffered a concussion after making a pass breakup with 5:59 left in the third quarter of the 48-25 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday. He is in the league’s concussion protocol and was declared out for the Giants’ game.
Green, who was a second-round pick of the Colts in 2016 out of Clemson, is with his fifth team.
Green, 26, played with the Colts (2016-17), Seahawks (2018), Saints (2019), Panthers (2019-20) and the Falcons (2020-21). He’s played in 36 NFL games and made 11 starts.
“When it ended with the Colts I went to Seattle for a couple of weeks,” Green said Friday. “Walked away from the game for a little bit. I decided to come back with the Saints. I was on their practice squad for a little bit. Then went to Carolina and then ended up here last year.”
Green, 26, of Sylacauga, Alabama, was signed to the Falcons’ practice squad Sept. 20, 2020.
“For me it was personal, a bunch of stuff off the field,” Green said. “It didn’t have (anything) to do with on the field. Just some stuff that I felt I had to go home and fix, take care of. Once I felt like I was back in a comfortable place, I decided to come back and play the game.”
He was activated Dec. 12 and played in two games last season. The new regime cleared out most of the safety group, but kept Green and second-year safety Jaylinn Hawkins.
“It’s been a great opportunity, coming in, starting, going through what I went through,” Green said. “Coming back out here every day grinding is just a blessing to be here, a blessing to have the opportunity to go out there and play again.”
Green, who’s 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, played safety and cornerback during training camp for the Falcons.
“He’s done a great job,” Falcons secondary coach Jon Hoke said. “He’s a versatile guy. He’s a big athlete. You can obviously see his physical traits.”
He’s a big cornerback, who the Falcons believe can play man-to-man and cover in zones.
“He’s embraced that change,” Hoke said. “He bounces back and forth. It’s been a lot of fun to watch him get better.”
Having played at safety has helped the transition to cornerback.
“It gives him a great perspective of where everyone is because he did play safety,” Hoke said. “He works at safety, and he works at corner.”
The Falcons also revamped the cornerback position. Isaiah Oliver, who opened the past two seasons at right cornerback, now is a nickel cornerback and Kendall Sheffield is on injured reserve. The team did not re-sign Darqueze Dennard and Blidi Wreh-Wilson.
That left an opening for Green to revive his once-promising career.
“It’s just been his day-to-day preparation,” Hoke said. “Every since training camp, you’ve seen him develop, gain more confidence in himself. It’s been really fun to watch him grow as a player. He’s still growing. That’s the unique part about it.”
The Falcons like how Green can use his size against bigger receivers.
“He’s got really good length,” Hoke said. “He has very good long speed. For a tall guy, I think he has really good short-area quickness. That’s always a challenge for those guys.”
The Falcons are counting on Green to step in and play well against the Giants. He closed the game against the Bucs.
“I thought T.J. competed, played well on to the scheme,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “Like everybody, just like coaches, there’s things you wouldn’t, you wish you had back. I’m sure the players feel the same way.”
Before Terrell left, Green was beaten by Mike Evans for a touchdown catch.
“It looked like a run alert, and they liked what they saw over there,” Smith said. “I expect T.J .to improve.”
Defensive coordinator Dean Pees believes Green is up to the task.
“The truth is with T.J., going in and playing wasn’t really based on the injury,” Pees said. “He’s really earned the right to go in and play. We actually already had him in a rotation, and at some point in time we were actually going to use him possibly as a safety, but then we couldn’t because he had to go play corner.”
The Falcons like Green’s versatility.
“He’s doing a great job,” Pees said. “He’s learned how to play corner. He’s learned how to play safety. He’s earned the right, regardless of whether there was an injury or not, he’s earn the right to get some playing time.”
The Giants have a talented trio of wide receivers Sterling Shepard, Kenny Golladay.
“I don’t expect anybody to catch anything on me,” Green said. “I’m going to line up and compete. Those are great receivers on that side of the ball. Big city. Lots of lights. It’s going to be a good time to go out there and show what I can do.”
Green thought his career was over.
“For me, it’s just a blessing to be back here,” Green said. “I didn’t know If I was going to be able to come back into the game or not. It was a blessing that I had those workouts. It’s a blessing I had the chance to come back in the NFL and actually just be on a team. For me to get this far, it’s just a blessing from God.
“I’m just going to keep working, keep grinding ... and prove I belong here.”
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