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Austin Aune

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/16/23

June 16th, 2023 at 9:43pm CST by Adam La Rose

Friday’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Trickett’s deal is three years in length, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). That represents a sizeable commitment considering the Falcons are already set at the kicker position with Younghoe Koo. Trickett will have training camp and the offseason to earn himself an extended look on Atlanta’s practice squad during training camp and the preseason following his five-year college career. He spent time at Kent State and Minnesota, converting 79 of 100 field goal attempts and all but three of his 179 extra point kicks.

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.