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Atlanta Falcons News & Rumors

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/16/23

May 16th, 2023 at 6:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the latest 2023 draftees to sign their four-year rookie deals:

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

New Orleans Saints

The Browns added Tillman to a receiver room that includes Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones and trade acquisition Elijah Moore. Peoples-Jones is going into a contract year. Downs joins a Colts team rostering contract-year wideout Michael Pittman Jr. and second-year talent Alec Pierce. The Colts lost Parris Campbell this offseason. Dell will stay in Houston, moving to a Texans team that traded Brandin Cooks to the Cowboys. The Texans did sign Robert Woods and are expected to have 2022 second-round pick John Metchie in uniform after a leukemia diagnosis wiped out his rookie year.

Donovan Smith‘s Chiefs signing looks set to place Morris on the developmental track. Kansas City has now added two free agent tackles — Smith and Jawaan Taylor — who have a combined 12 years of NFL starting experience. The Saints will pair Haener with their higher-profile Fresno State alum, Derek Carr, atop their quarterback depth chart. The team made Haener this draft’s sixth QB selection, at No. 127, and the move began a run on Day 3 QB picks.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/16/23

May 16th, 2023 at 6:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

XFL additions and other post-rookie minicamp moves led to some action on the waiver wire Tuesday. As other teams add talent from the latest XFL effort, here are the latest NFL moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

  • Signed: FB Zach Ojile, OL Sam Schlueter

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

A former 60-meter dash finalist at the U.S. Indoor Track and Field Championships, Guidry has bounced around the league. But the Jets are bringing back the young cornerback. Guidry played 28 games for the team from 2020-21. A fellow DB, Westry started two games for the Ravens in 2021; he will relocate to Cleveland.

Jackson, Jennings and Thomas all played in the XFL this season and auditioned for the Panthers at their recent rookie minicamp. The Panthers tried Thomas at both tight end and linebacker over the weekend. Although Thomas played in the most recent XFL effort, he was in Colts camp — under current Panthers HC Frank Reich — in 2021. This is Jennings’ seventh NFL stop. The former Seahawks fourth-round pick has not played in the NFL since his 2019 rookie year in Seattle.

Romo joins a Lions team carrying Michael Badgley as its incumbent kicker. The younger specialist has not yet kicked in an NFL game, but the former Virginia Tech kicker played in the XFL this season, making 17 of 19 field goal tries. This included a 57-yarder.

Falcons Release OL Germain Ifedi

May 16th, 2023 at 3:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

Germain Ifedi played 17 Falcons games last season and re-signed with the team in March. But the former first-round pick is back in free agency. The Falcons released Ifedi on Tuesday.

Making room for UDFAs, the Falcons are moving on after one season. Ifedi has five seasons’ worth of full-time starter experience, working in that capacity for the Seahawks and Bears during his seven-year career. The Falcons had guaranteed Ifedi $153K on a one-year, $1.3MM deal. As a vested veteran, Ifedi will avoid the waiver wire.

The Falcons initially signed Ifedi last year, adding him during the same offseason in which fellow ex-Bears Eddie Goldman and Damien Williams joined the team. Falcons GM Terry Fontenot formed a Bears pipeline of sorts, having added longtime Chicago GM Ryan Pace to his front office. Both Williams and Ifedi are now gone.

Falcons OC Dave Ragone also worked with Ifedi in Chicago. The four-year Seahawks right tackle starter ended up with the Bears in 2020 and worked as a 16-game starter for the playoff-bound team that season. The Bears gave Ifedi two one-year contracts. After his full-year starter run in 2020, Ifedi started seven games in 2021 but missed eight contests due to injury. With a new Bears regime taking over in 2022, Ifedi headed elsewhere.

Ifedi, 28, did not see a major role with the Falcons. Despite suiting up for every Atlanta game, he only logged eight offensive snaps. Neither Jake Matthews nor Kaleb McGary missed a game. The Falcons have brought back McGary, re-signing the former first-round pick in March, but the team is lighter on swing-tackle options with Ifedi off the roster. Ifedi has 83 career starts on his resume and has lined up as a first-stringer — at both guard and right tackle — for four playoff teams. Like ex-Texas A&M teammate Cedric Ogbuehi, who signed with the Dolphins a week after a Jets release, Ifedi should be expected he will have another opportunity soon.

After adding UDFAs on Monday, the Falcons announced the addition of quarterback Austin Aune. A North Texas product, Aune will join QBs Desmond Ridder, Taylor Heinicke and Logan Woodside on Atlanta’s offseason roster.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/15/23

May 15th, 2023 at 9:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

The first of this year’s spring leagues to debut, the XFL’s third effort, finished its season Saturday. XFL players are now free to sign NFL contracts, and several agreed to terms Monday. Here are those agreements, along with the other transactions from around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: T BJ Wilson

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

  • Signed: RB Tyreik McAllister, RB Jacques Patrick
  • Waived: WR Dallas Daniels, DB Darrious Gaines, TE Kris Leach, RB Emanuel Wilson

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

After seeing the pandemic nix its second effort in 2020, the XFL concluded its season Saturday. The Broncos signed the league’s second-leading rusher, in Patrick, while the Browns and Cowboys offered Barqoo contracts, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. Barqoo, who played for the Jaguars in 2020 and XFL’s San Antonio Brahmas this year, opted for the Steelers’ offer. Patrick, whom the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson notes passed a Broncos physical Monday, finished with 443 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He joins XFL passing leader Ben DiNucci as a Broncos May addition.

Seeing time for the St. Louis BattleHawks, Jones-Smith played in three games apiece with Raiders and Ravens, respectively, from 2020-21. Thompson will join the Dolphins after a spring tour of duty with the Seattle Sea Dragons, while fellow XFL alum Brewer played in two games for the Bills last year. Heflin played five games for the Packers in 2021; the new Saint spent the XFL season with the Houston Roughnecks.

The Raiders gave Johnson a reserve/futures deal in January. The young wideout collected a ring with the 2020 Buccaneers and totaled 360 receiving yards for Tampa Bay’s 2021 iteration. While the Texans claimed him on waivers ahead of last season, he played in just two games with the team.

Jackson suited up for national championship-winning Georgia last season. The new Titans wideout finished with 514 receiving yards in 2020 and totaled 320 for last season’s Bulldogs edition. A Division II Quincy alum, Wilson received an East-West Shrine Bowl invite but tore an Achilles tendon late last season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/14/23

May 14th, 2023 at 5:04pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor moves to wrap up the weekend:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

  • Signed: CB LJ Davis

Ray is making a long-awaited return to the NFL. When he finished out his rookie contract with the Broncos after the 2018 season and failed to make the Ravens roster for the next year, Ray was away from professional football for about a year and a half. After a long hiatus, he signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. The Bills will give Ray a chance to return to the NFL, reuniting him with Von Miller from their days in Denver.

Ray saw early success in Denver, racking up 12.0 sacks in his first two years. But after earning a starting job in 2017, Ray suffered a season-ending wrist injury after only eight games. In 2018, another wrist surgery would force him to miss five more games. His injury problems did not leave him in Canada, as a torn bicep would force him to miss the Argonauts’ Grey Cup victory. He’ll hope to stay healthy in his NFL return.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/12/23

May 12th, 2023 at 9:09pm CST by Ely Allen

Rookie minicamps started today and more rookies put the names on the dotted line of their four-year contracts. Here are the mid- to late-round picks who signed today:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Commanders

Falcons Exec Phil Emery Retires

May 12th, 2023 at 5:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Falcons executive Phil Emery will leave his post with the organization, opting to retire after nearly 25 years in NFL front offices. Emery enjoyed two stints with the Falcons, the most recent beginning in 2016.

Best known for his time with the Bears, Emery, 64, broke into the scouting ranks with the then-NFC Central team in the late 1990s and, after time with other organizations, returned to become the team’s GM in 2012. That tenure lasted just three seasons, with Emery and HC Marc Trestman fired after the 2014 campaign ended.

Emery fired longtime Bears HC Lovie Smith in 2013, hiring Trestman, a veteran offensive coordinator who also enjoyed great success in the CFL. The Bears, who went 10-6 in Smith’s final season, completed 8-8 and 5-11 seasons under Trestman.

Emery assembled the most statistically productive wide receiver duo in Bears history, trading for Brandon Marshall in 2012 and pairing him with 2012 second-round pick Alshon Jeffery. The two worked with Jay Cutler, acquired by a previous regime but extended under Emery, before Emery successor Ryan Pace traded Marshall in 2015. The Bears ranked second offensively in 2013, doing so as a Cutler injury helped foster Josh McCown‘s resurgence, and played for the NFC North title in a Week 17 game against the Packers. Back from injury, Aaron Rodgers led the Packers past the Bears in that game. Chicago’s offense then regressed in 2014, and its defense had nosedived during Trestman’s stay.

Prior to his run atop Chicago’s front office, Emery served as the Falcons and Chiefs’ director of scouting. The Falcons assembled part of their early-2010s core during Emery’s initial Atlanta stint, when the team drafted Roddy White and Matt Ryan. Emery spent much of the 1980s and ’90s as a college strength and conditioning coach.

Following the Bears ouster, Emery returned to the Falcons in 2016, when the team hired both he and ex-Titans GM Ruston Webster as national scouts. Although current GM Terry Fontenot had not worked with Emery previously, he kept the veteran personnel man on upon being hired in 2021. Emery and Webster moved into senior personnel executive roles upon Fontenot’s arrival.

“It’s not just the fact you have that knowledge; it’s the willingness to share it,” Fontenot said of Emery. “That was a great thing about Phil. He was great in the room and is passionate about the game and its details. To hear him talk about a player was so valuable. He was open and willing to share his experience, whether something went well, or it didn’t. The wisdom and openness was so huge for us.”

A few Falcons staffers have moved on this offseason. The Titans hired Anthony Robinson as their co-assistant GM, and the Cardinals’ new front office staff now includes ex-Falcons staffer Rob Kisiel.

Falcons Sign Round 1 RB Bijan Robinson

May 11th, 2023 at 4:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

As the Falcons prepare for their rookie minicamp, they will have their top draft pick under contract. Bijan Robinson agreed to terms with the team on Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Selected eighth overall, Robinson signed a four-year, $21.96MM deal that will include a 2027 option for the Falcons to exercise by May, 2026. The former Texas superstar’s rookie deal will be fully guaranteed.

Although the Falcons sported a top-tier rushing attack last season, they opted to take the player widely viewed as the best back in this year’s draft. Robinson finished his collegiate career with more than 4,000 yards from scrimmage and 41 touchdowns. This included a 2022 campaign where he had 1,894 offensive yards and 20 scores, leading to him earning a unanimous All-American nod after the season.

While the rookie only had 60 receptions in three college seasons, the Falcons should still be able to find creative ways to use him in a crowded depth chart. 2022 fifth-round pick Tyler Allgeier finished his rookie season with more than 1,000 rushing yards, while veteran Cordarrelle Patterson contributed more than 800 yards from scrimmage (which followed a 2021 campaign where he compiled 1,166 yards from scrimmage and 11 touchdowns).

Even if it takes a bit for Robinson to get going, Atlanta’s front office can hang their hats on a talented collection of offensive skill players. The Falcons have now drafted skill-position talents in the top 10 in each of the past three years. Robinson joins 2021 No. 4 overall pick Kyle Pitts and 2022 No. 8 selection Drake London in Atlanta. While the previous two picks will not be at Atlanta’s rookie camp Friday, Robinson will begin his Falcons work with the other rookies this weekend.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/10/23

May 10th, 2023 at 7:36pm CST by Ely Allen

Teams are moving quickly on inking their Day 3 draftees to their four-year rookie deals, with this process involving a slot system that does not feature many complications for late-round players. Here are the latest such agreements to commence:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Commanders

Johnson transferred back to the west coast after a freshman year at Miami (FL). He established himself as one of the most versatile players in the country while in Eugene, contributing for the Ducks on defense as an edge rusher and on offense as a tight end. Carolina drafted him for his defensive potential.

Moody is the expected replacement for Robbie Gould, who departed in free agency this spring after six years with San Francisco. Likewise, New England moved on from punter Jake Bailey after a couple of internal disagreements. Baringer is expected to take over for the one-time All-Pro punter.

Falcons Sign CB Tre Flowers

May 8th, 2023 at 10:55am CST by Adam La Rose

The Falcons have made another veteran addition to their defense. The team announced on Monday that cornerback Tre Flowers has signed a one-year deal.

The 27-year-old received interest from the Panthers prior to the draft, but he will now head elsewhere in the NFC South. Flowers has logged 41 starts in his career, all but one of which came during his tenure in Seattle. A Seahawks fifth-rounder in 2018, he saw his workload change dramatically after his first two campaigns.

Flowers’ playing time dropped in 2020 and ’21 as Sidney Jones moved ahead of him on the depth chart. That led to the Seahawks’ decision to place the former on waivers in October 2021. The Bengals took advantage of that decision by claiming him and using him in a rotational capacity during their run to the Super Bowl. Cincinnati was sufficiently impressed with the Oklahoma State alum that they re-signed him last offseason.

Flowers played primarily on special teams during his first and only full Bengals campaign. He did add one interception and three pass deflections, though, and has considerable first-team experience dating back to his time in Seattle. It comes as little surprise that Flowers will not be returning to Cincinnati, though, as the Bengals have added Jones in free agency and fellow corner DJ Turner in the second round of the draft.

In Atlanta, Flowers will join a secondary which has seen a number of additions this offseason. The Falcons signed Mike Hughes and traded for Jeff Okudah prior to the draft, moves which came after the big-ticket deal given to safety Jessie Bates. Atlanta also selected corner Clark Phillips III in the fourth round of the draft, giving them a number of options to compliment AJ Terrell. Flowers will look to carve out a role in the team’s new-look CB room, one which should enter the 2023 season with heightened expectations.

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