Atlanta Falcons trade Pro Bowl LB to Cleveland Browns

The Atlanta Falcons are unloading a contract while the Cleveland Browns are rolling the dice on a former Pro Bowl linebacker.

The Falcons have pulled off their first trade since the Brian Edwards trade with the Las Vegas Raiders as they are trading their veteran linebacker to another AFC team that is putting all their eggs in the basket this year.

Atlanta Falcons trade Deion Jones to the Cleveland Browns for a late-round pick

We have finally found out the fate of one of the Atlanta Falcons’ best players over the past decade as Deion Jones is on his way out the door to join the Cleveland Browns.

At the moment we do not know yet what the exact compensation is for Debo but as Ian Rapoport has reported, it is “late-round compensation.”

While there was no chance that the Atlanta Falcons would get anything more than a late-round pick, it still hurts to see a player, who used to be the best at his position, leave for such little compensation. Obviously, this was just a salary dump as the current regime unloads the final big contract on the books.

In his prime, he was an absolute playmaker. As a rookie, he helped his team reach their second-ever Super Bowl during the 2016 to 2017 season.

He is still on the verge of breaking a big record at the linebacker position, so hopefully, he will be able to achieve that in Cleveland.

Falcons fans may have a bitter taste in their mouth due to his struggles in recent times, but we should never forget what he was when he was at his best. Just remember his 90-yard pick-six or his game-winning interception in the endzone, both against Drew Brees. The former LSU Tiger always dominated Brees when the two would go head-to-head.

He finishes his Atlanta Falcons career with 652 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 11 interceptions for 379 yards, 5 touchdowns, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and 40 tackles for loss. He also made the Pro Bowl in 2017.

So long to a franchise great who made so many plays over the years. Hopefully, he can get fully healthy and find his feet for the Browns’ defense.