FLOWERY BRANCH – Former Falcons defensive end Vic Beasley, who was the eighth pick in the 2015 NFL draft, is attempting to revive his professional football career in the XFL.
Beasley, 30, is set to play for the Vegas Vipers against the Arlington Renegades at 3 p.m. Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
Beasley, who is from Rome and played at Clemson, had 15.5 sacks in the 2016 season, which helped the Falcons on their way to the Super Bowl. He was pushed by defensive line coach Bryan Cox and longtime standout Dwight Freeney that season.
After he was named All-Pro and won the Deacon Jones award, Beasley’s play dipped. The drop in play coincided with Cox not being retained and Freeney moving on.
Coach Dan Quinn offered to work with Beasley in the offseason, but he elected to work out on his own.
Beasley was viewed widely as a one-trick-pony as a speed rusher. Beasley needed to develop some counter moves, but resisted learning new moves.
The Falcons picked up his $12.8 million fifth-year option for the 2019 season. He was not re-signed in 2020 by the Falcons. He signed with the Titans, but was released after five games.
He was signed by the Raiders and played five games with them.
Cox spoke highly of Beasley during the AJC’s “Where are they now?” series during the pandemic.
“Vic was a guy who grew on me,” Cox told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an exclusive interview. “He was a guy that initially, I wasn’t overly jacked about, but I came to love Vic. I understood who he was. I was able to get the most out of him because I understood who he was and what he was about.”
For some reason, three days after the Super Bowl LI collapse, Cox was fired and Beasley never was the same. He recorded five sacks in 2017, five in 2018 and eight in 2019.
Cox described Beasley as a spiritual and very kind person.
“You have to be able to get on his level and be able to understand what makes him tick,” Cox said. “If you can do that, you can get the most out of him. Fortunately, during my last year there, I was able to get him to be the NFL sack leader.”
Cox also credited veterans Freeney and Jonathan Babineaux for helping with Beasley.
“You saw the growth that Grady (Jarrett) made, the jump that he made,” Cox said. “So, it was a whole bunch of guys. That whole group fought and really filled in the gaps. If I was riding a guy too hard, they were able to go into the situation and really do it.
“I thought Dwight Freeney really made a big impression on the group from his leadership and from his knowledge. By understanding my point of view, he was able to get some guys to understand some of things I was talking about.”
Cox did not get another job in the league until last season, when the New York Giants hired him as their assistant defensive line coach.
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