Falcons cut ties with Taniela Tupou with a non-football injury designation

Taniela Tupou is a semi-promising young defensive tackle who spent time with Seattle and drew a little bit of playing time a year ago for Atlanta, so he seemed like a strong bet to duke it out with draft picks, undrafted free agents, and veteran signings to be the team’s last defensive tackle in 2018. Of course, the universe rarely proceeds in a straight line.

Tupou got injured somehow—the designation is vague, and the Falcons aren’t offering any details at the moment—and now he’s being waived by Atlanta. There’s a chance he could sign back up later if he’s healthy, but the timing of this suggests he won’t be back with the Falcons this year. The surprise cut leaves the Falcons with just Grady Jarrett, Jack Crawford, and Joey Ivie as true defensive tackles on the roster today, but the Falcons figure to fix that soon with the draft approaching and defensive tackle looking like their #1 target.

We’ll let you know if we get any additional details here, but we’ll wish Tupou well wherever he lands, as is our custom.