It was another disappointing season by the Atlanta Falcons' pass rush, after hoping the addition of Matt Judon would change the franchise's chronic issue.
This prompted General Manager Terry Fontenot to start from scratch this offseason by bringing in a few new faces—Leonard Floyd, Jalon Walker, and James Pearce Jr.—who will join the developing Arnold Ebiketie and Bralen Trice.
But, this rehauled position is bad news for one player the Falcons hoped would develop into a superstar for their defense.
DeAngelo Malone is clearly on his way out leading into Falcons training camp
In 2022, the Atlanta Falcons traded Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts for a third-round pick. The Falcons used that pick on Western Kentucky's DeAngelo Malone, who led the nation in tackles for loss.
However, his college success hasn't transferred over to the NFL, as he has just three sacks and seven tackles for loss in 49 career games.
With no room on the roster, the Falcons aren't in a position to wait any longer for his potential development.
Here is what the position group looks like right now:
- Leonard Floyd
- Jalon Walker
- James Pearce Jr.
- Arnold Ebiketie
- Bralen Trice
- DeAngelo Malone
- Khalid Kareem
The top five names are essentially locks, leaving no room for anyone else.
The only reason the Falcons would keep him is for his special teams value and the slight potential that he develops into a quality player. But neither of those things is a strong enough argument to keep him on the final 53-man roster.
At this point, the only hope Malone has to stick around, barring an unbelievable preseason performance, is if he lands on the practice squad.
For that to happen, he would need to clear waivers after final cuts, and the Dirty Birds would need to be willing to use one of their six non-first-or-second-year-player practice squad spots.
All in all, DeAngelo Malone is heading toward being another Terry Fontenot draft bust, made worse by the fact that he is what you got in return for arguably the best player in Falcons' history.