Atlanta Falcons

Cordarrelle Patterson isn't moping about getting released from the Pittsburgh Steelers this week ... but he IS mopping.

The NFL vet took to his Instagram to post a late-night story Wednesday ... letting his followers know his life now consists of household chores instead of resting his body for training camp.

He also included a shameless tag of the cleaning company he was using ... perhaps a sponsorship will help him keep food on the table?? We kid, the guy has made nearly $43 million on the field in his career.

12:08 PM PT -- Jeff Ulbrich just addressed the matter during media availability on Wednesday ... publicly apologizing to Shedeur and the Sanders family -- as well as the entire Falcons organization -- for what transpired.

Ulbrich said his failure to protect confidential information was "inexcusable" ... and same goes for Jax's role in sharing it.

Ulbrich said the family will not appeal the fine ... and they promise to work hard and prove they're above this whole ordeal.

The NFL just punished the Atlanta Falcons and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich for their roles in the Shedeur Sanders draft day prank call ... stating the org. and coach messed up by allowing confidential info to get leaked.

The Falcons were fined $250k and Ulbrich an additional $100k for "failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club in advance of the NFL Draft."

Sanders was on the receiving end of a bogus phone call on Day 2 of the event ... with a male pretending to be New Orleans Saints GM Mickey Loomis hitting the ex-Colorado quarterback's private line and telling him he'd have to wait a bit longer before getting picked.

WNBA star Rickea Jackson may be off the market after being spotted with Atlanta Falcons draft pick James Pearce Jr. at a watch party on Thursday ... but after her appearance made waves on social media, she elected to handle it all with some humor.

The chatter began after the Falcons traded up to pick the former Tennessee linebacker with the 26th selection of the first round ... when the broadcast went live to Pearce's viewing setup, which revealed the fellow ex-Volunteer was seated to his right and rubbing his leg.

Fans expressed their thoughts on the apparent hard launch on social media ... with some sharing their heartache after realizing the L.A. Sparks star might be unavailable.

Ya thought 3/28 was gonna come and go without Bill Belichick's girlfriend taking a shot at the Atlanta Falcons?? Yeah, right -- Jordon Hudson made sure to acknowledge the sports "holiday" on Friday ... letting her followers know she's celebrating in honor of her man's old team!!

The 24-year-old posted an Instagram Story with a sly caption that read, "Happy 3/28 Day to all who celebrate" ... and shared a pic of her with the North Carolina coach back from their Super Bowl week festivities last month.

The image shows them in the same outfits they wore when they were spotted out in New Orleans on Feb. 8 at brunch with the NFL commish Roger Goodell.

Yet another NFL player has had his home broken into ... this time a residence belonging to Atlanta Falcons defensive back Antonio Hamilton Sr. was burglarized early Friday morning.

According to a Roswell Police Department incident report, obtained by TMZ Sports, cops were called to Hamilton Sr.'s Georgia home at around midnight after the football player told them his home security camera system had captured three men ransacking his pad.

The report states the suspects broke in through a back door using a hammer/mallet while Hamilton Sr. was on vacation ... and took a safe -- before bolting from the residence in a matter of minutes.

Michael Penix Jr. went from buying in bulk to being the main guy in Atlanta ... with the quarterback revealing he found out he was getting the Falcons' starting gig while shopping at Costco.

The Washington product chatted with reporters a day after it was announced Kirk Cousins was getting benched ... and he painted a pretty vivid picture of what it was like when he got the call while buying groceries.

"As you can imagine, there were some nerves, there was some excitement," he said. "But I'm just super blessed to be in this position. Super blessed to be on this on this team for the opportunity."

Michael Vick is taking on a new challenge -- the former NFL superstar is reportedly the next head football coach at Norfolk State!!

According to reporter David Teel, the four-time Pro Bowl selection is set to replace Dawson Odums on the sidelines ... after he was fired for going 15-30 over his four years at the helm.

While the 44-year-old has plenty of experience on the gridiron, the one area he doesn't have much expertise in is a coach -- as this job will mark the first time he throws on a headset.

Atlanta is really rubbing off on Kirk Cousins -- the Falcons quarterback celebrated his huge "Thursday Night Football" win by chowing down at Waffle House ... but not before doing an interview in the parking lot!!

The 13-year vet joined "The Dan Patrick Show" on Friday to talk all about the Falcons' 36-30 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime ... but before they broke down the game, the broadcasting legend inquired about his backdrop for the virtual convo.

Cousins explained he wanted to take advantage of his day off from work, so he asked his 7-year-old, Cooper, what they should do.

Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield are doing their part to make sure individuals affected by Hurricane Helene can get the assistance they need -- the two NFL stars donated $50k each to a relief fund.

The Falcons and Buccaneers quarterbacks made the combined $100k contribution to Team Rubicon -- a veteran-led humanitarian organization -- to help people who dealt with the impacts of Helene after its landfall back on September 26.

"We stand with those who have been affected," Mayfield said. "Honoring the lives lost and the families that are still in distress. Together, we can make a difference."

The stands of the Saints vs. Falcons game Sunday looked more like the inside of a UFC Octagon ... as multiple people got into violent fights.

One of the scarier ones happened near the top of Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium- when about four guys began scuffling with one another.

Video from the scene captured by a bystander shows two men in a wrestling match over some seats ... a guy in a No. 11 Falcons jersey was trying to beat up a dude in a red shirt just feet away.

The Eagles suffered a crushing last-minute defeat on "Monday Night Football" at the hands of Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons ... and their star running back, Saquon Barkley, is acknowledging his key fourth-quarter drop might have cost Philadelphia the game.

Barkley met with media members at his locker following the 22-21 defeat ... and almost immediately, the $37.75 million man took ownership of a crucial third-down drop that would have iced the contest for Philly.

"I dropped the ball," he said. "Let my team down today. Shouldn't have put my defense in that position, make that catch the game's over."

Matty Ice is putting his career on ice for good -- former NFL MVP Matt Ryan is officially retiring from professional football after 15 seasons.

The Atlanta Falcons great -- who played all but one season with the organization -- released a heartfelt goodbye to the game on Monday ... saying it was time to hang up the helmet.

"Today, 16 years after being drafted, my childhood dream has officially come to an end," Ryan said.

1:10 PM -- Bijan Robinson is perfect no more ... Marquette just ruined the NFL star's previously unblemished NCAA tournament bracket.

The No. 2-seed Golden Eagles defeated No. 15-seed Western Kentucky, 87-69, making it the only game so far that Robinson hasn't gotten right.

What a run!!!

NCAA tournament bracket already busted? Bijan Robinson can't relate -- the NFL superstar is perfect through Day One!!

The Atlanta Falcons tailback didn't get one of his 16 picks wrong on Thursday -- somehow nailing Oakland's upset over Kentucky AND Duquesne's big victory over BYU.

The feat is incredibly rare ... out of the 22 million-or-so brackets that were filled out this week -- less than 2,000 remain unblemished!!

The 22-year-old was thrilled to be right ... he posted a pic to his Instagram page late Thursday night, flashing a million-dollar grin with the caption, "They said it was crazy."

"Yessirski," he added.

The running back will have quite the hill to climb in order to stay undefeated going forward. He's got No. 11-seed North Carolina State and No. 12-seed Grand Canyon advancing to the Elite Eight ... as well as his alma mater, Texas -- a No. 7 seed -- winning the whole thing.

But, hey, if the guy made it this far this good, perhaps the choices aren't that wild after all!!

His NFL team, meanwhile, celebrated the feat with a late-night tweet Thursday -- writing, "A PERFECT bracket for @Bijan5Robinson on day one?! 🤯"

Tip-off for Day Two is just a couple hours away -- if you need betting tips for the afternoon, probably best to check out Robinson's bracket above!!

Barring something unforeseen in the next few days, Bill Belichick will NOT be the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons ... the NFL org. is reportedly set to hire Raheem Morris instead.

The former New England Patriots head man had been considered the favorite for the open gig throughout the early parts of January ... this after interviewing for the job twice in a matter of days earlier this month.

However, something changed in the last week ... and now, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the Falcons will hire Morris -- the LA Rams' defensive coordinator -- instead.

The Falcons were believed to be the only team without a head coach who interviewed Belichick this offseason.

Only two franchises remain without a head coach at this point, but both -- the Commanders and the Seahawks -- do not appear to have interest in Belichick.

Of course, The Hoodie could always be a defensive coordinator somewhere this season ... though it appears more likely the 71-year-old takes the year off, before trying to resume his pursuit of the NFL's all-time wins record in 2025.

Rob Gronkowski says there's plenty of heat left on Bill Belichick's fastball ... telling TMZ Sports his former head coach is still every bit the "powerhouse" he used to be.

"I think, 100 percent, he's still the great Bill Belichick," the Patriots legend said. "No doubt about that."

Of course, it's all come into question recently ... after Belichick struggled to find success in New England following Tom Brady's departure.

In his four seasons without the GOAT under center, Belichick recorded just a 29-38 record ... and only made one playoff appearance.

Now that he's officially out of Foxborough, though, Gronk says he believes Belichick can prove once more he's still the best ever to put on a headset ... telling us if he gets a hold of a roster with stars on it, watch out.

"If he goes to a team with great players with great talent, he will be successful," Rob said, "because he's still the powerhouse coach that we all have seen throughout the years."

For now, Belichick seems more likely than not to end up in Atlanta ... he already interviewed for the Falcons' vacant job earlier this month -- and, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, he'll have a second meeting with the team's brass this weekend.

As for The Hoodie's replacement in New England ... Gronkowski had nothing but good things to say about Jerod Mayo -- telling us all he's heard so far about his former teammate is that he's become a helluva a leader on the sidelines.

There's much more with Gronk ... we also talked to the NFL legend about his upcoming Super Bowl party, Gronk Beach, at Encore Beach Club on Saturday, February 10.

The 5,000-person strong pool party/music festival will have all kinds of entertainment, including Afrojack and DJ Irie, in addition to other surprise musical guests.

In past years, Rob's brought some of his famous to the party ... like Travis Kelce, Julian Edelman, Guy Fieri, Deebo Samuel, Johnny Damon, Camille Kostek and even Bill Belichick!

Here's your chance to party with Gronk ... don't drop the ball!

Ryan Clark tells TMZ Sports if the Atlanta Falcons are looking to get better quickly ... acquiring both Justin Fields and Bill Belichick would be a heck of a place to start.

Of course, the Falcons appear to be exploring the idea of bringing both guys on board this offseason ... and Clark made it clear to us this week he'd have no qualms with either addition.

"I could see that being a match in Atlanta that would work not only for a coach," the 44-year-old ex-Steelers defensive back said, "but also a player."

As for how possible it'd be ... it seems it could very well go down. After all, the Falcons have already interviewed Belichick for their vacant head coaching role ... while Fields appears to be available via trade in Chicago after the Bears locked up the No. 1 overall draft pick through the Carolina Panthers.

Clark seems confident Belichick would want Fields under center, too ... knowing the coach loves to acquire talent that's previously performed well against him.

"Justin Fields played absolutely out of his mind against Bill Belichick last year," Clark said.

As for the rest of the coaching carousel around the NFL, Clark said he could envision Jim Harbaugh landing in L.A. ... and he told us he could also see big shakeups coming in Dallas and Philadelphia too.