Falcons Trim Roster to 78 Players after Cutting 2 DL

The Atlanta Falcons are down to 78 players with final roster cuts coming Tuesday.

Less than 24 hours remain before the Atlanta Falcons must cut their final roster to 53 players. According to a report, the Falcons began trimming their roster Monday with the release of two defensive linemen.

ESPN's Michael Rothstein reports the Falcons cut defensive tackle Eli Ankou and defensive lineman Zac Dawe.

The #Falcons have also cut DL Zac Dawe, per source.

— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) August 30, 2021

For Ankou, this actually marks the end of his second stint with the team. The Falcons signed Ankou in May but released him a month later. He then spent a time with the Buffalo Bills before the Falcons signed him again Aug. 18. 

Ankou has spent time with eight different teams during his four years in the NFL. He began his career as a undrafted free agent with the Houston Texans in 2017, but just before his rookie season was claimed off waivers by the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

With the Jaguars, he played in 11 games from 2017-18, recording 19 combined tackles and 1.5 sacks. In 2019, he appeared in nine games, making two starts for the Cleveland Browns. Last year, Ankou played in seven games for the Dallas Cowboys.

At UCLA, Ankou appeared in 29 games, posting 91 total tackles, including 8.0 for loss and 1.5 sacks.

Dawe is a 26-year-old undrafted rookie from BYU. He played four seasons at BYU after redshirting as a freshman in 2016. In 38 college games, he recorded 81 total tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. During 2020, he had a career-high 43 total tackles and 2.0 sacks.

These two cuts inch the Falcons closer to the 53-player maximum the team must reach at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. There are still plenty of cuts to make by then.