Atlanta Falcons edge defender Brooks Reed was cut on Wednesday afternoon and released a tearful goodbye on Instagram.
The Falcons decided that Reed was too costly to keep; cutting him would save $4.5 million toward the 2019 salary cap. That’s money that can be used more efficiently on Grady Jarrett’s extension or to re-sign Bruce Irvin and/or Steven Means for depth at edge defender.
The Falcons weren’t getting the kind of production from Reed that they did in 2016, so that made this cut palatable. Reed finishes his four-year stint in Atlanta with 101 tackles, seven sacks and one pass deflection. Those stats would have been more impressive had he been able to amass them in a single season than over the course of four.
Reed is the third Falcons player to get the boot this week. Cornerback Robert Alford and kicker Matt Bryant are also gone.
