The Atlanta Falcons will induct John Abraham and the late Bill Fralic into their Ring of Honour during separate ceremonies this season, while the Washington Commanders open their 2026 campaign by marking the passing of both Sony Jurgensen and Monte Coleman.

Abraham will be recognised when Atlanta host the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football on 11th October, while Fralic’s posthumous induction will accompany the Falcons’ Week 16 game against Tampa Bay, the date of which remains subject to the NFL’s flex-scheduling arrangements.

Abraham and Fralic will become the 15th and 16th members of Atlanta’s Ring of Honour. Their selection brings together two players who excelled on opposing sides of the line of scrimmage during different periods of the franchise’s history. Abraham remains Atlanta’s official career leader with 68.5 sacks, accumulated across seven seasons following his arrival from the New York Jets in a three-team trade in 2006. The defensive end reached double figures four times for the Falcons, including a 16.5-sack campaign in 2008. He earned first-team All-Pro recognition in 2010 and was selected for the Pro Bowl during the same season.

Abraham also produced 32.5 sacks and forced 12 fumbles between 2010 and 2012, helping Atlanta reach the playoffs in three consecutive seasons. The Falcons compiled a 13–3 regular-season record twice during that period and advanced to the NFC Championship Game following the 2012 campaign. He forced 25 fumbles during his Atlanta career, including 19 upon sacks, and recorded 115 quarterback hits. Only Grady Jarrett has produced more for the franchise since that statistic began to be recorded in 2000. Abraham completed his 15-year NFL career with 133.5 sacks, currently the 14th-highest total in league history. He earned five Pro Bowl selections and three All-Pro appointments across spells with the Jets, Falcons and Arizona Cardinals.

Fralic was selected second overall in the 1985 draft after Atlanta traded with Minnesota to move up two places. The former Pittsburgh offensive lineman became the Falcons’ starting right guard during his rookie season and finished third in voting for Offensive Rookie of the Year. He subsequently earned three consecutive All-Pro selections, including first-team recognition in 1986 and 1987, while reaching four successive Pro Bowls.

Fralic started 115 of his 116 appearances across eight seasons with Atlanta. His blocking helped Gerald Riggs finish fourth among all NFL players in rushing yards between 1985 and 1988. He was later selected for the NFL’s 1980s All-Decade Team and inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Fralic also returned to the Falcons as a radio commentator between 1995 and 1997. Away from the field, he spoke publicly against steroid use in professional football and appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1989 to support legislation classifying anabolic steroids as controlled substances.

Fralic died from cancer in 2018 at the age of 56. He will become the first player inducted posthumously into Atlanta’s Ring of Honour.

While the Falcons add two new names to their permanent honour roll, Washington will use its home opener to remember two established members of its own.

The Commanders will stage a half-time celebration of Sonny Jurgensen and Monte Coleman during their game against the Seattle Seahawks on 27th September. Both men died earlier this year. The ceremony will include members of Washington’s Ring of Fame, guest speakers and video remembrances. Billy Kilmer, Jurgensen’s former team-mate, will serve as an honorary captain at kick-off alongside Art Monk, who will represent Coleman. Washington’s offensive players will wear #9 helmet stickers in memory of Jurgensen, while the defense will carry Coleman’s #51.

Jurgensen died in February at the age of 91. The Hall of Fame quarterback spent 11 seasons with Washington after arriving from Philadelphia in a 1964 trade involving Norm Snead and Claude Crabb. He led the NFL in passing yards during three of those Washington seasons and topped the league in passing touchdowns in 1967. Across an 18-year career, he completed 2,433 passes for 32,224 yards and 255 touchdowns. Jurgensen entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and remained associated with Washington for decades as a member of the franchise’s radio broadcast team. His #9 jersey was retired in 2023.

Coleman, an 11th-round draft choice from Central Arkansas in 1979, spent his entire 16-season NFL career in Washington. The linebacker appeared in 216 regular season games, a franchise record until it was surpassed by Darrell Green, and contributed to all three of Washington’s Super Bowl-winning teams. Coleman recorded 56.5 sacks, 17 interceptions and 15 fumble recoveries during his career. He was inducted into Washington’s Ring of Fame in 2015.