Atlanta Falcons Sign Former Cincinnati Bengals Edge Rusher, Per Report

FLOWERY BRANCH, GA - The Atlanta Falcons began the season with one of the more interesting group of edge rushers in the NFL. However, they lost Jalon Walker to injury last week and quietly moved DeAngelo Malone to the reserve/PUP list.

With the status of James Pearce Jr. still unknown for the season opener on September 13th against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Falcons suddenly find themselves very thin at edge.

They've helped remedy the situation by signing former Cincinnati Bengals fourth-round pick Cameron Sample, according to a report from CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz.

Sample was taken with the No. 111 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and is a native of Snellville, Ga., where he attended Shiloh High School. He attended Tulane for four seasons and had 10.5 sacks. His best season came as a senior in 2020, when he had 52 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and 5.0 sacks.

There wasn't an NFL Combine when Sample was coming out of Tulane, but he measured just a tick under 6'3 and 270 pounds at his pro day and added an impressive 37-inch vertical leap.

Sample was a regular in the Bengals' rotation at edge rusher during his first three seasons. He played in 14 games as a rookie, 16 in his second season, and all 17 in 2023, including one start. He was placed on injured reserve in August of 2024 after an Achilles injury and didn't play a down.

He returned to action in 2025 and played in 14 games with 2 starts. He tied his career high last season in sacks with two after coming back from missing all of 2024.

In four active seasons with the Bengals, he played 61 games with five starts, had 85 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss, and 7.0 sacks.

Sample joins the Falcons' Samson Ebukam, who joined the team as a free agent in March, as a player who lost all of 2024 to an Achilles tendon injury. Sample relied more on size and strength in his role as an edge setter and was able to return to his normal production a little sooner than Ebukam.

Ebukam comes in roughly 25 pounds lighter and had 9.5 sacks in 17 games with the Colts before missing all of 2024 with a similar injury. Ebukam had just two sacks in 2025 as he worked to regain his full agility and burst last season.

He says he's fully healthy this season and notices a clear difference in his explosiveness at Falcons training camp.

Ebukam has been impressive in training camp and looks to have one of the starting edge roles locked down for the Falcons. Pearce's status is still unclear, but he has a spot as a pass rusher when he's fully cleared. Azeez Ojulari and a resurgent Bralen Trice look good for a spot on the 53-man roster along with defensive end Cam Thomas, who plays a standup edge in the Falcons' big packages.

There's an opportunity for Sample to make this team. He has a similar skill set to Trice and Thomas, so a lot will depend on how many big edge rushers the Falcons want to keep on cutdown day on August 30th.

Sample should get acclimated to the team this week and may see some time on Friday night when the Falcons take on the Denver Broncos in their first preseason game of 2026.

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