Linebacker Divine Deablo agreed to a two-year contract worth $14 million with the Falcons on Tuesday, according to a tweet from his agents at SportsTrust Advisors, an Atlanta-based firm with Pat Dye Jr. as the CEO and Founder.
Deablo, who’s 6-foot-3 and 223 pounds, was a third-round pick (80th) in the 2021 NFL draft out of Virginia Tech. He has played in 54 games in the NFL with the Raiders and made 42 starts.
Deablo has racked up 45 tackles, 74, 106 and 63 over his first four season for a total of 288. He also has 10 tackles for loss, six quarterback hits, two sacks, six passes defensed and two fumble recoveries.
He missed three games last season with an oblique injury.
Pass coverage is not Deablo’s strong suit. Teams have completed 106 of 135 passes (78.5%) for 955 yards and seven touchdowns against him, according to Pro Football Reference.com. Also, quarterbacks have had a 113.4 passer rating when throwing at Deablo.
The Falcons are thin at linebacker after not extending a restricted free-agent tender to Nate Landman. Kaden Eillis and Troy Andersen were the opening-game starters last season, but Andersen ended up playing in only seven games because of injury after playing in only two games in 2023.
Linebacker JD Bertrand, who was a rookie last season, played in 12 games.
Landman was rugged against the run, but opposing quarterbacks had a 152.4 passing rating when they found him in coverage. He gave up 21 of 25 completions for 277 yards, three touchdowns and had missed seven tackles.
While the Falcons wanted to retain center Drew Dalman and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, they both left for the Chicago Bears. Dalman reportedly left to take less money, while Jarrett quickly worked out a deal three-year deal shortly after being released.
The Falcons opened free agency by signing long snapper Liam McCullough to a four-year extension and then signed left tackle Jake Matthews to a cap-friendly, two-year extension.
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