The Atlanta Falcons will not tender cornerback Brian Poole, which will make him a free agent on March 13, according to Pro Football Talk.
Poole played in all 16 games with the Falcons this past season, making nine starts. During that time, he registered 74 tackles, three sacks, three interceptions, a couple of fumble recoveries and six passes defended.
The 26-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Florida, went undrafted in 2016 but signed with Atlanta as a free agent that May.
He ended up making the roster and playing in all 16 contests during his rookie campaign, starting nine of them. He finished with 58 tackles, a sack, a pick, a pair of fumble recoveries and nine passes defended and was a member of a Falcons defense that made it all the way to the Super Bowl before blowing a 28-3 lead over the New England Patriots in a 34-28 overtime loss.
The following year, Poole appeared in 15 games, totaling 63 stops, a sack and four passes defended.
This is a fairly odd move for Atlanta, as Poole had actually been one of the team's better defensive backs in his three years with the club. Not that that's saying all that much, as the Falcons' defense ranked 25th in the league during his rookie campaign and 28th this past season.
The Falcons are coming off of a disappointing 2018 campaign in which they went just 7-9, marking the first time the squad did not make the playoffs since 2015. It also marked the team's first losing season since 2014.
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