LB DeAngelo Malone Visits Buccaneers

Malone recently met with the Buccaneers, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports. He adds no signing is imminent in this case. In the event of a deal being worked out, Malone would offer depth to Tampa Bay along with special teams experience.

The 26-year-old played out his rookie contract as a member of the Falcons. In that time, Malone totaled 58 appearances. None of them were starts, and the former third-rounder’s defensive workload was sparse after his rookie season in particular. However, Malone has logged over 1,100 snaps on special teams to date during his NFL tenure. A heavy workload with respect to third phase duties can be expected wherever he winds up in free agency.

The Buccaneers’ plan at the linebacker position will need to account for Lavonte David‘s retirement. The franchise icon elected to hang up his cleats after 14 seasons, all of them with Tampa Bay. Malone or similar free agents who are still available at this point of the offseason will obviously not be able to replace David’s consistent production on defense, but they could offer depth at the second level. The Bucs have already brought in linebackers Alex Anzalone and Christian Rozeboom since the start of the new league year.

Malone was limited to nine games in 2025, a year in which he recorded his first career interception. The Western Kentucky product also notched three sacks across his time in Atlanta, but any significant addition to that total would require a larger defensive workload than what he has handled so far in the NFL. Presuming Malone continues to be viewed strictly as a special teams option, he could remain unsigned until after the upcoming draft.

The Bucs currently have over $14MM in cap space. Any Malone contract will not require a major financial commitment, but it will be interesting to see if his visit ultimately results in a signing.