Vic Beasley began his NFL career as a defensive end. He will become one again.
The Falcons are moving Beasley back to being a full-time defensive lineman, with the linebacker experiment over.
“I have re-assessed it,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn told D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He played six games at linebacker and two injured. I’m going to put him full-time, all-the-time back at pass rusher. I thought it was best for the team even though some of his production would go down.
“His best role is doing what he does. He won’t go back to linebacker.”
Beasley, the eighth overall pick in 2015, spent two seasons listed as a linebacker and played both end and linebacker. He excelled in that role in 2016 with 15.5 sacks and six forced fumbles. But he started only eight of 14 regular-season games this season and played only 46 percent of the defensive snaps as he made five sacks and one forced fumble.
The Falcons hope to get more big plays out of Beasley with the move back to defensive end.