The Atlanta Falcons didn't invest heavily in their linebacker room for no reason this offseason. Jeff Ulbrich saw the gold mine that was the the Divine Deablo signing, and opted to bring in more players that fit the vision of what this team is looking for from their off-ball LBs: speed and high football IQ.
The Falcons sought to add athleticism to their linebacker room, and their outlook looks much better than it did a year ago. They signed Christian Harris and Channing Tindall and drafted Kendal Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr. in the 2026 NFL Draft, which has buried an old draft pick on the depth chart.
The writing has been on the wall for JD Bertrand for quite some time now. When Deablo was placed on IR for four games in the middle of last season, he stepped in as the starting linebacker. And his presence threw off the entire complexion of the defense due to his lack of elite-level athleticism.
The Falcons moving on from JD Bertrand this summer feels inevitable
If the Falcons saw Bertrand as someone they could consistently rely on, they wouldn't have overhauled the entire linebacker room to bring in a group of players who better fit Ulbrich's vision. There's a reason why he's been believed to have been on the chopping block all offseason long.
Even the oft-injured Troy Andersen is a better fit for what the Dirty Birds covet from their linebackers. At this point it's become clear that the 26-year-old doesn't have much of a future in Atlanta, because if the defensive staff had any faith in him, they wouldn't have invested at the position the way they did, especially after his role diminished throughout the year.
The 2024 fifth-round pick is undersized, isn't super fast, and was a liability in coverage last season. He also lacks the range it takes to be an every-down linebacker. At this point, all Bertrand is good for is special teams contributions, but Daniels and Perkins are also capable of stepping in on specials.
Daniels is basically a Deablo clone, Perkins is one of the highest-upside players in the linebacker room, and Harris and Tindall are both better athletes than him. What sense does it make to keep the Notre Dame product around when he sticks out like a sore thumb in a scheme he's not built for?
The Falcons are also going to use Jalon Walker's versatility a bit more at linebacker and with Tindall and DeAngelo Malone at the bottom of the depth chart, they have more linebacker depth. And that means that Bertrand is the odd man out, especially since he's a player that this new staff inherited.
It would be a surprise if JD Bertrand isn't released by the Falcons before the start of the season, so while training camp may be his final chance to save himself, don't count on him actually doing it.
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