Falcons release DE Brooks Reed saving $4.5 million in cap space

The cuts are coming in waves at this point, and defensive lineman Brooks Reed is the latest casualty, per Reed’s Instagram account.

Reed spent four seasons in Atlanta after being one of the first free agent signings in the Dan Quinn era, back in the 2015 offseason. He was given a five year, $22 million contract with $9 million guaranteed to help bolster Atlanta’s bottom-tier defense.

Reed played in 60 games for the Falcons, and started 34 of them. He was signed as a linebacker (which is where he played all 60 of his games in Houston before coming to Atlanta), but was subsequently converted to a defensive end. He started 14 of Atlanta’s 16 games at DE in 2016, and played in all three playoff…