Former Falcons CB signs with rival Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers signed former Atlanta Falcons cornerback Malcolm Dewalt IV to their 53-man roster a few hours before Thursday’s prime-time matchup against the Green Bay Packers.

DeWalt, an undrafted free agent out of Akron, signed with the Falcons following the 2026 NFL Draft and throughout training camp. The rookie overcame pretty steep odds and made Atlanta’s initial 53-man roster to begin the season.

While DeWalt did not play in a regular season game for Atlanta, the team clearly valued him to keep him on the active roster for the first six weeks. The Falcons released Dewalt last Thursday in anticipation of A.J. Terrell’s return from the injured reserve list.

Now that Terrell’s back and Billy Bowman Jr. is healthy again, the Falcons felt they had adequate depth at defensive back. Atlanta likely would have brought DeWalt back on the practice squad, but the Panthers beat them to it.

After spending the last five days on Carolina’s practice squad, he is officially back on a 53-man roster.

DeWalt, 24, has decent versatility and enough size (6-foot-2, 190 pounds) to line up on the outside. If the rookie can carve out a role in Carolina, the Falcons will likely regret their decision to keep four healthy quarterbacks on their active roster.

Atlanta signed form Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton to compete with Tua Tagovailoa for the backup job behind Michael Penix Jr.

We’ll see if DeWalt gets on the field against the Packers. The Panthers currently hold a half-game lead over the Falcons in the NFC South, so keep an eye on Thursday’s game.