Getty DJ Moore #2 of the Carolina Panthers catches a touchdown pass against Dean Marlowe #21 of the Atlanta Falcons and Rashaan Evans #54 of the Atlanta Falcons.
So, the November 1st NFL trade deadline wasn’t a quiet day after all for the Atlanta Falcons.
After sending Calvin Ridley to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for conditional draft capital, the Falcons traded safety Dean Marlowe to the Buffalo Bills for a 2023 seventh-round pick in return, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Another trade: Bills also acquired S Dean Marlowe from the Falcons in exchange for a 2023 7th-round pick.
It was also an additional move for the Bills, who had acquired running back Nyheim Hines from the Indianapolis Colts earlier.
Marlowe Joined the NFL in 2015
Marlowe, 29, originally went undrafted in 2015 before being picked up by the Carolina Panthers. He made the team’s 53-man roster as a rookie but had a limited role during his first year.
His NFL career in Carolina was cut short due to a hamstring injury that made him miss the 2016 season and in 2017, the Panthers released him. He spent most of the 2017 season with a home until the Buffalo Bills picked him up in December, where he spent the next three years in a reserve role bouncing on and off of Buffalo’s practice squad.
He went to Atlanta in March after spending the 2021 season in Detroit. While there, Marlowe started 9 games for the Lions, playing 65% of the total snaps on defense and logging 67 total tackles (37 solo) along with 2 passes defended.
He re-joins the Bills after making just one start and recording 11 total tackles through the first eight games of the 2022 season.
Over eight seasons, Marlowe has tallied a total 101 tackles (67 solo), two interceptions, seven passes defensed and 15 special teams tackles through 55 games (17 starts).
Marlowe’s Trade Comes After A Big Let Down
Marlowe was one of the reasons this past Sunday that the Falcons nearly lost to the Carolina Panthers.
With just 2:14 minutes left on the clock, the Falcons held a 31-28 lead over the Falcons. They were able to force a turnover and kick a field goal to make the lead a bit higher at 34–28.
By then, Carolina was left with just 36 seconds to come up with a scoring drive––and they did. Third-string quarterback P.J. Walker launched a rocket to D.J. Moore, who had two guys, Dean Marlowe and Rashaan Evans, on him. Moore caught the 62-yard touchdown to tie the game.
P.J. WALKER LAUNCHED IT OVER 60 YARDS TO DJ MOORE TO TIE THE GAME 😱
The extra point was no good.
(via @Panthers)
Walker and Moore set the Panthers up to ultimately win the game. However, when Moore ripped his helmet off to celebrate, he drew a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. That made it necessarily tougher on kicker Eddy Piñeiro to make a field goal at the 48-yard line. Piñeiro missed it.
Then, boom, over time.
Piñeiro also missed his kick at the 32 in overtime. However, Younghoe Koo made his 41-yarder to seal a Falcons win.
Yes, it was a one-in-a-million play by Walker, but the Falcons are lucky they got a draft pick in return following that heart-attack outing by Marlowe.
Atlanta now has a first, second and third, along with two fourth and seventh-round picks next April.
But that’s not where it ends. The Falcons will also add on a fifth or sixth-round pick with the Ridley trade.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, “if he gets reinstated bye a date, it’s worth a 2023 5th, otherwise it’s for a 6th. If he makes the team in 2024, it’s at least a 4th. If he hits play-time milestone, it’s a 3rd. If Jax get a long-term done, it’s a 2.”