If you were to list the worst draft picks the Atlanta Falcons have made across the last half-decade, LB DeAngelo Malone would have to be near (or at) the top of that list. The guy was selected with the third-round pick the Falcons got in the Matt Ryan trade, and has flopped relative to expectations.
Across four seasons, Malone has appeared in 58 games in red and black, but has yet to record a start. He also has just three sacks to his name and has been more of a special teams contributor than anything else--and it was for that reason it was crucial for him to prove his value to another new coach this offseason.
However, that has not been the case. The fifth-year linebacker has yet to take the field for the Falcons in training camp after placing him on the active/PUP list--and now we won't see him at all this season. Per the team, Malone was moved to the reserve/PUP list, which will end his season before it started.
The Atlanta Falcons are placing DeAngelo Malone on the reserve/PUP list
There's a major distinction that we need to consider here. The active/PUP list is where Troy Andersen, Billy Bowman Jr., and Jawaan Taylor are. They're rehabbing off to the side and will eventually be activated. The reserve/PUP list is where players go when they're going to miss regular season time.
The reserve/PUP list mandates that players on there miss the first four weeks of the regular season. But like with Storm Norton, the Dirty Birds are using it for a player who is going to miss the entire season in DeAngelo Malone, who's long-term future with the franchise is starting to be in jeopardy after missing most of 2025 due to injury.
In a corresponding move to placing the 2022 third-round pick on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, the Falcons signed former Chiefs and Eagles defensive tackle Marion Tuipolotu, who has appeared in 33 games across five seasons since being drafted in the sixth round of the 2021 Draft.
For as bad as it is to see this end Malone's season for Atlanta, it might end his time with the team altogether. They signed him to a one-year prove-it deal in free agency after his rookie deal expired, and at this point, I can't imagine there is much incentive for stashing him on the PUP list all season.
It's not like the Falcons can bank on a career turnaround for the Western Kentucky product, since they've waited four years for that to happen and nothing has changed. At this point, they should accept he's a mere special teams contributor, which isn't enough output for a former top-75 pick.
At this point, DeAngelo Malone doesn't offer Atlanta Falcons much, especially if he's hurt, so it's time to pull the rip-cord on this failed experiment.
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