The Atlanta Falcons have waived 23-year-old linebacker Malik Verdon from injured reserve, ending his brief and injury-marred tenure with the club.
The move, announced via the NFL transaction log, takes Verdon off Atlanta’s roster and puts him on waivers. If he is not claimed, he will become a free agent still waiting to play a regular-season NFL snap.
Verdon, born Oct. 31, 2002, in Cincinnati, signed with the Falcons as an undrafted free agent after the 2025 draft following a standout career at Iowa State.
Listed at 6-foot-4 and 218 pounds, he was a second-team All-Big 12 selection in 2024 after recording 76 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack, five pass breakups, two forced fumbles and an interception.
Atlanta signed him to a three-year, $2.975 million deal with $244,000 guaranteed and planned to convert the former safety into a linebacker.
He never got a clean runway. In July 2025 the Falcons placed him on the reserve/non-football injury list with a shoulder issue. Atlanta opened his 21-day practice window later that season, but the window expired without an activation, and Verdon missed his entire rookie year.
He participated in 2026 OTAs and appeared healthier, then suffered an undisclosed injury in training camp. On Aug. 11 the Falcons waived him with an injury designation. After he cleared waivers, he reverted to injured reserve the next day and was expected to miss the 2026 season.
Friday’s transaction—taking him off IR and cutting him—closes that chapter. The dead-cap hit is modest.
For Atlanta, now under head coach Kevin Stefanski, the decision is straightforward roster housekeeping: a young player who has not appeared in a regular-season game and has spent most of two years on NFI or IR.
The Falcons have already shuffled linebacker depth this week, including placing JD Bertrand on IR and adding veterans and practice-squad pieces.
For Verdon, the path is familiar to many undrafted converts. Size, length and college production gave him a chance. Availability did not.
He remains young enough that another team could view him as a developmental special-teamer or depth linebacker once healthy. Until then, his NFL story is two seasons without a debut and a contract that Atlanta has now terminated.
The Falcons open the 2026 season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Verdon will watch from elsewhere—if he is watching at all—still looking for the first healthy opportunity that never arrived in Atlanta.
