The Falcons have made their call on DeAngelo Malone, and it doesn’t point to a comeback story.
Atlanta moved the fifth-year linebacker to the reserve/PUP list, a move that will keep him out for the entire season before it ever gets going. Malone had already been sitting on the active/PUP list in training camp, but that designation is for players working their way back. The reserve version is the one that shuts the door on regular-season availability.
That’s a harsh ending for a player the Falcons once expected much more from. Malone was drafted in the third round with the pick Atlanta got in the Matt Ryan trade, and through four seasons he never came close to living up to that billing.
He has played in 58 games without making a start, and he’s logged just three sacks. Most of his value has come on special teams, which is exactly why this offseason mattered so much for him under a new coach.
Instead, the injury setback has wiped out his year. The Falcons said Malone is being placed on reserve/PUP, and that mirrors what they did with Storm Norton in a case where the team is clearly treating the list as a season-ending move.
Atlanta did make a corresponding addition, signing former Chiefs and Eagles defensive tackle Marion Tuipolotu. A sixth-round pick in the 2021 Draft, Tuipolotu has appeared in 33 games over five seasons.
For Malone, the bigger question now is whether this is only the end of his season or the end of his run in Atlanta. The Falcons brought him back on a one-year prove-it deal after his rookie contract expired, but after four years of waiting for a breakout that never came, the team is left with the same answer: a special teams piece, and not much more.
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