The Falcons and Jonathan Babineaux are closing in on a three-year deal, sources tell Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). The 32-year-old has been in talks with Atlanta for several weeks and it now appears that they will keep him out of the free agent pool with a brand new deal.
Babs was one of many Falcons unrestricted free agents this year and among the team’s higher priorities. Atlanta freed up extra space to re-sign Babineaux and others by convincing cornerback Asante Samuel to restructure his deal and provide the team with ~$4MM in savings. It was rumored that the team would also try and get defensive end Osi Umenyiora, set to earn $3.5MM in 2014, to take a pay cut, but that no longer appears to be the case.
Statistically, this was a less productive season for Babs than previous campaigns as he registered one sack and 28 tackles.