Anthony Rush was on the Titans when the Falcons kicked off the 2021 season. In the early going, Atlanta’s run defense was abysmal and they clearly wanted to add to their defensive line, so two days after the Titans cut ties with him, the Falcons were there to snap Rush up.
After spending about a month on the practice squad, Rush debuted in early November and wound up playing in 10 games. He delivered consistent performances playing between 25-45% of the defensive snaps, chipping in on special teams along the way. In a season where the Falcons seemed to be throwing things at the wall and seeing whether they stuck, Rush is an unmitigated success story, a player the Falcons picked up out of free agency and delivered a string of quality games for a team that badly needed them.