FLOWERY BRANCH, GA - The Atlanta Falcons, like most teams around the NFL this time of year, have already dealt with their share of injuries as they get ready for Week 1's opening game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.However, on Monday afternoon, the team got a boost with the return of right tackle Jawaan Taylor, who was cleared to join practice for the first time as a Falcon. He was removed from the active/PUP list and should join the team on Tuesday morning.Taylor was signed as a free agent shortly after long-time starter Kaleb McGary announced his retirement. McGary suffered a knee injury last year and decided to call it a career this season rather than further risk his knee. Taylor signed for $5 million, but according to Spotrac, that didn't include any guaranteed money. As each day ticked by with him on the outside looking in, it looked like a possibility that he might not play for the Falcons at all.Those concerns were alleviated with the news and still having four-plus weeks to get ready for the regular season against the Steelers. The Falcons take on the Denver Broncos on Sunday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but it's highly unlikely that Taylor will see action. "He obviously hasn't been in there yet, but has been extremely dialed in in meetings as he gets his body ready," head coach Kevin Stefanski said on Monday morning. "So I'm very confident in how he's prepared to date, and now with this next step of coming off the list where he can do a little bit more, can get in uniform, can go join the team, I think you'll see him continue to make strides."He'll need a bit of an acclimation period before going full speed; the rest of the team has already been at training camp for two weeks, after participating in OTAs and minicamp in June. In his place, Michael Jerrell has seen the bulk of the action with the No. 1 unit next to All-Pro Chris Lindstrom. Taylor joined the Falcons after spending the last three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.Taylor was originally a second-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2019 NFL Draft. He spent four years with the Jaguars, and he started every game the Jaguars played in those four years. He signed a big-money free agent contract with the Kansas City Chiefs before the 2023 season. He started 17 games in 2023 and 16 games in 2024. He split time last year, playing in 12 games with all of them starts.The Chiefs released him in a cap-saving move before he was scooped up by the Falcons. The book on Taylor is that he's a bit of the opposite of McGary. While McGary was an excellent run blocker, he struggled in pass protection. Taylor is better in pass pro, but not as good a run blocker. The pass protection aspect of his game probably appeals more to Falcons management, as they don't need to have the best run blockers to spring Bijan Robinson. Taylor must also clean up his penalties. He was flagged 14 times in 2024, his last full season as a starter, and had 10 penalties in 12 games last season. The Falcons will be glad to have him back at practice this week. He brings much-needed experience and talent to a position that has Michael Jerrell, Ethan Oniawna, and Brandon Walton sharing snaps. That trio of players has a combined five NFL starts among them. Sign up for our free Atlanta Falcons newsletter and follow us and 30,000 Falcons fans on Facebook and X for the latest news!Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow