The Atlanta Falcons waived defensive end Keshawn Banks on Wednesday, ending his brief stay with the club as the team finished last-minute roster work before Sunday’s season opener at Pittsburgh.
The NFL’s official transactions report confirmed the move. Atlanta processed the release as an injury settlement, making Banks a free agent.
Banks had been placed on injured reserve late in the preseason. Instead of holding him there for the long haul, the Falcons chose to let him seek work elsewhere.
The decision came as coach Kevin Stefanski’s staff continued shaping the 53-man roster and practice squad ahead of the Week 1 trip to Acrisure Stadium.
Banks, 26, is a 6-foot-3, 251-pound edge rusher from Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was a three-sport athlete at Rio Rancho High School. In 2016 he helped the Rams finish 13-0 and win a state championship.
A three-star recruit, Banks spent his entire college career at San Diego State and became a regular all-conference performer. He started his final 47 games for the Aztecs.
Over five seasons he recorded 139 tackles, 42 tackles for loss and 13 sacks, finishing sixth in school history in tackles for loss.
The Green Bay Packers signed him as an undrafted free agent after the 2023 draft and kept him on the practice squad for most of that season.Injuries opened a door in January 2024. Banks made his NFL debut in the NFC divisional playoffs and played 11 snaps.
Green Bay cut him in August 2024. The New England Patriots signed him to the practice squad and later elevated him. He appeared in three regular-season games, all on special teams, without recording a tackle.
He later spent time on the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad. In 2026 he played in the UFL, first with the Michigan Panthers and then with the Orlando Storm.
Banks started 10 games for Orlando and finished with 23 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and five sacks. Those numbers made him one of the league’s more productive edge rushers.
Atlanta brought Banks in during minicamp. A preseason injury undercut any chance he had of sticking on the 53-man roster.
The Falcons typically play a 3-4 front, with outside linebackers asked to generate most of the pass rush. The group includes Za’Darius Smith, Cameron Thomas, Jared Ivey and Samson Ebukam.
Interior linemen such as Brandon Dorlus and Da’Shawn Hand have also lined up at end in some packages.
Atlanta is already thin on the edge. First-round pick James Pearce Jr. is serving an eight-game suspension for a personal-conduct violation and is not eligible to return until November.
The Steelers will see that thinner front Sunday. Atlanta’s staff has said it will keep evaluating the hot hand as the season unfolds.
Banks never got a clean look in a Falcons uniform. He now becomes one more veteran available to any team that needs a body on the edge or on the practice squad.
Whether he lands another NFL opportunity this year is an open question. His UFL production and brief Patriots stint give him a resume that still interests personnel departments looking for cheap depth.
For Atlanta, the waiver is another small piece of roster housekeeping. The larger issue remains finding consistent pressure without Pearce and with a group that has not yet proven it can finish plays.
