The Falcons are turning to a familiar free-agent type to reinforce the linebacker room, with former Vikings and Bengals linebacker Brian Asamoah II set to join Atlanta, according to NFL insider Jordan Shultz, who reported the move Wednesday morning.
Atlanta has leaned on a relatively small group at linebacker this season. The team has carried five players at the position on its active roster, and two of them - Kendal Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr. - are rookies who have carved out major roles.
Both have logged the bulk of the snaps next to veteran Divine Deablo. Behind them, Christian Harris and Josh Woods have filled reserve jobs and have handled their work on special teams.
Asamoah, 26, comes to the Falcons with a college résumé built at Oklahoma. He played in 37 games over three seasons from 2019 through 2021 and piled up 179 tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, 5.0 sacks, five passes defended and an interception.
His best year in Norman came in 2021, when he posted 90 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, a sack and two forced fumbles. That season earned him second-team All-Big 12 honors before he entered the NFL Draft.
Minnesota took Asamoah in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, selecting him No. 66 overall. He spent three seasons with the Vikings and finished with 30 tackles, including a career-high 17 as a rookie in 2022.
His path since leaving Minnesota has been a winding one. The Vikings waived him in 2025 during training camp, and he then moved around the league.
He signed with the Tennessee Titans that summer but did not make the roster. The Las Vegas Raiders later added him to their practice squad, only to release him two months after that.
Most recently, Asamoah was with the Cincinnati Bengals. He appeared in four games for Cincinnati in a special teams role and did not record any stats. A knee injury in Week 13 ended that stint early, and he was placed on injured reserve.
In Atlanta, Asamoah is expected to battle Woods and Harris for a depth and special teams job, pending a secondary announcement from the team.
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