Falcons defensive tackle Paul Soliai missed one game recently with a calf injury and he’s been hindered by the issue in other games, but there’s not much reason to continue trying to play through it now that the Falcons’ final playoff hopes have been extinguished.
As a result, the Falcons opted to place Soliai on injured reserve Tuesday. They promoted tight end D.J. Tialavea from the practice squad to fill the open spot on the roster.
Soliai spent the first seven years of his career with the Dolphins and signed a five-year, $33.5 million deal with the Falcons as a free agent in the offseason. He started 10 of the 14 games that he played for Atlanta this season, made 22 tackles and recovered a fumble.
Soliai should be OK in time for the start of offseason workouts with the Falcons next year and will rejoin Ra’Shede Hageman, Grady Jarrett and Jonathan Babineaux as options in the middle of the defensive line.