For months, O’Brien Schofield has been lobbying for a return to the Falcons. It took a while, but the veteran linebacker is on his way back to Atlanta, as Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets. It’s a one-year deal for the Falcons and Schofield, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. The Falcons have confirmed the deal via press release. To make room, the team has waived running back Terron Ward.
Schofield will likely play SAM linebacker for the Falcons and help with the pass rush on occasion, McClure writes. The 29-year-old signed a one-year, $1.7MM deal with Atlanta last year and finished out the year with 28 tackles, four tackles for losses, two sacks, 13 quarterback hits, and one forced fumble.
The Falcons made Schofield an offer early on in the offseason, but he held out for more money. Schofield appears to have misjudged the market as the Falcons did not improve their offer and interest from other teams was mild to say the least. The Patriots met with Schofield in August and the Jets hosted him on a visit in September, but neither meeting led to a deal.
Schofield followed Dan Quinn to Atlanta last offseason when he signed a one-year, $1.7MM contract. He finished out the year with 28 tackles, four tackles for losses, two sacks, 13 quarterback hits, and one forced fumble.
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