8:30pm: The injured knee that landed Vilma on the injured reserve has received a “thumbs up” medically, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. He adds that if Vilma’s signed, it will be before training camp.
4:19pm: Things could change, but as of right now, the Falcons won’t be signing free agent linebacker Jonathan Vilma, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Atlanta worked out Vilma earlier today.
If the Falcons sign Vilma, Garafolo says that it will be further down the line and possibly during training camp. Vilma and other veteran linebackers have been connected to Atlanta ever since the team lost Sean Weatherspoon to a ruptured Achilles, but the Falcons might not be in a rush to find an out-of-house replacement, if at all.
It’s also possible that Vilma’s performance today wasn’t quite what Atlanta was expecting. The former Jets and Saints standout has struggled with a left knee problem that limited him to just one game in 2013.