Ex-Falcons LB Emmanuel Ellerbee reportedly current Falcons LB Emmanuel Ellerbee again

The former Falcons undrafted free agent will re-join the team and try to carve out a roster spot in 2021.

With training camp officially kicking off tomorrow, the Falcons are finally filling their one open roster spot. They’ll do so with a familiar name, or at least familiar if you’re a Falcons 2018 undrafted free agent enthusiast.

Emmanuel Ellerbee is reportedly signing with the Falcons ahead of camp, per NFL reporter Aaron Wilson. We’ll see if and when the team and local beat writers confirm the signing. Those of us who were hoping for a miracle Justin Houston signing will have to continue to wait, probably indefinitely.

Ellerbee, 24, has bounced around after spending the summer of 2018 with Atlanta. He was waived during final cuts that year and wound up playing three games as a special teamer for the Chargers that year before ping-ponging between the Seahawks active roster and practice squad. He hit injured reserve in 2019 and stayed with the Seahawks through the following September, when he was waived from injured reserve and hit the Texans practice squad for a bit. He had not signed with a team in 2021 to this point. Before entering the NFL, Ellerbee was a tackling machine at Rice who put up 14.5 tackles for loss and 5 sacks between his junior and senior seasons.

Ellerbee will compete for a role in the team’s linebacker group, hoping to latch on at the back of the roster as a reserve who can play special teams. It remains to be seen whether he’ll slot in at outside linebacker or inside linebacker, but I’m guessing the latter. He’ll need to push his way past 2021 free agent signings Shareef Miller and George Obinna and undrafted free agent Kobe Jones for a roster spot or practice squad role, so we’ll see whether he hits the ground running in training camp.

Welcome him back, if you would.