Falcons waive Archbishop Murphy grad Tupou

Published 1:30 am Thursday, October 19, 2017

By Nick Patterson

Herald Writer

It was a short-lived stay on an NFL roster for Taniela Tupou.

The Archbishop Murphy High School graduate was waived by the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday, just nine days after being signed to Atlanta’s 53-man roster.

Tupou, a defensive lineman, appeared in one game for the Falcons. He was on the field for seven defensive snaps in Sunday’s loss to the Miami Dolphins without recording a defensive statistic.

Tupou was waived to make room for the signing of veteran defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin, who had been released by the Denver Broncos. Tupou and Rubin were teammates with the Seattle Seahawks at the start of last season, when Tupou appeared in one game with Seattle.

Tupou will spend 24 hours on waivers, during which any of the league’s other 31 teams can claim him. If Tupou goes unclaimed he becomes a free agent. Tupou, who was signed by the Falcons off their practice squad, remains eligible to be signed to teams’ practice squads.