Falcons sign Geronimo Allison Veteran receiver Geronimo Allison has officially found a new place to play. The Falcons announced on Monday that they’ve signed Allison. The receiver participated in their rookie minicamp over the weekend. Allison appeared in three games for Detroit last season but did not record a reception. He previously opted out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Allison started his career with the Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2016. He appeared in all 16 games of the 2019 season with six starts, tallying 34 catches for 287 yards with a pair of touchdowns. In all, Allison has 89 catches for 1,045 yards with six TDs in 49 games with 15 starts. The Falcons have also signed tight end Tucker Fisk and defensive back Tre Webb. As corresponding moves, the Falcons cut receiver Chad Hansen, tight end Daniel Hello, and cornerback Luther Kirk. Atlanta begins its OTAs next week. PFT ___________ ______________________ As long... and for the benefit, of Torgo... lets keep it going for the Falcons!
He's definitely an upgrade over Chad Hansen, the receiver who was let go to make room. (Quick bio on Hansen: drafted in the 4th by the Jets in 2017, released after his rookie year. Bounced around since then, mainly on practice squads. Appeared in two games for Houston in 2020, including a career highlight 5 catches in one game against the Colts - and was then sent right back to the practice squad. Atlanta was his eighth team in the five years since his draft. Might be time to hang it up...) I'm also kinda stoked about Tre Webb having a good tryout and getting signed. He was a college teammate of second round pick Troy Andersen, so now they have a familiar face to help each other get adjusted and make it through OTAs.
Deion Jones out for the rest of the Falcons offseason Linebacker Deion Jones‘ future in Atlanta has been fodder for speculation recently and he won’t be working with the Falcons for the rest of the offseason. Falcons head coach Arthur Smith told reporters on Thursday that Jones will be out for the entire offseason program because he is rehabbing after having his shoulder cleaned up this offseason. Smith didn’t elaborate on Jones’ condition during the press conference. The announcement comes days after Jeff Schultz of TheAthletic.com reported Jones is almost certain to leave the team after June 1. Per the report, the Falcons would like to trade him as it would clear over $14.7 million of his $20 million-plus cap hit. Releasing him would bring far less cap relief, but would still allow the Falcons to swallow the hit now and move on with a cleaner cap in the future. It may also be the likelier route given the shoulder issue. Jones signed a four-year extension with the team in 2019 and started 16 games for the team last year. He had 137 tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble in those appearances. PFT
Falcons move defensive back Avery Williams to running back With a dearth of skill-position talent currently on the roster, the Atlanta Falcons are moving a young defensive back to the offensive side of the ball. Avery Williams, who returned kicks and punts and played 121 defensive snaps during his 2021 rookie season, will play running back for the Falcons in 2022, head coach Arthur Smith told reporters Thursday. Williams, 23, was drafted in the fifth round last year out of Boise State. The 5-foot-9, 195-pound player made appearances in 15 games in 2021, mostly on special teams. Williams returned 20 punts for 153 yards and 23 kicks for 490 yards, leading all Falcons players, including ace returner Cordarrelle Patterson, in each category. On defense, Williams played sparingly but did record 22 tackles and three QB hits and forced one fumble. The Falcons under Smith love to experiment with positionless football on offense -- Patterson, a former receiver and returner, is primarily a running back, while star tight end Kyle Pitts takes more snaps lined up as a wide receiver -- so moving a gamer like Williams to running back isn't out of character for the franchise. Williams should also be comfortable at his new position, as he was a star running back at JSerra Catholic (Calif.) High School. The second-year Falcon will compete with the likes of Patterson, Damien Williams, Qadree Ollison, Caleb Huntley and Tyler Allgeier for snaps at RB. Williams is the latest addition this offseason to an Atlanta offense in dire need of juice (QBs Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder; RB Williams; WRs Drake London, Bryan Edwards, Damiere Byrd, KhaDarel Hodge, Auden Tate; TE Anthony Firkser). Atlanta's gain on offense won't come at the expense of its special teams unit. Williams is still expected to play a factor in the return game in 2022. NFL.com
I will say he's not really competing with Cordarelle Patterson, Tyler Allgeier etc. His roster spot is going to be as the team's return man, and they aren't likely to risk him unnecessarily on offense. I suspect he'll be active emergency depth at RB. Oddly enough, the other RB they signed Thursday is also from Boise State. They signed Jeremy McNichols, who had previously played for Arthur Smith with the Titans. The McNichols signing is why the team released Cominsky.
Hmmm.... this might delay a potential trade as the new team would likely want him to pass a physical before taking on his (guaranteed) salary. So be it. It really won't make much difference to the Falcons to have him miss the remainder of OTAs and minicamp. But if there are no takers on a trade before the season starts, I'd say keep him for 2022. The article says releasing him "would bring far less cap relief". That's an understatement. Releasing him would bring ZERO cap relief for 2022.
The shoulder rehab might delay that too. Can you release an injured player if his salary for the year is guaranteed?
You certainly don't release him if any part of his deal is guaranteed due to injury. But it also doesn't necessarily have to happen right at June 1. Rehab is a perfect reason not to have him at OTAs, so you really just need to make the decision prior to training camp.
I'd still keep him if they can't trade him. It's not like he's a terrible player (138 total tackles and 6 passes defensed last year). He's simply overpaid and struggled to adapt to the team's new defensive system. But his salary is guaranteed (injury or otherwise). So if you're going to eat the full cap amount anyway, you might as well give him another shot at adapting to the new scheme. He's fast, he has coverage skills, and he's only 27.
Falcons sign second-round pick Arnold Ebiketie The Atlanta Falcons signed second-round draft pick Arnold Ebiketie on Thursday. A standout at Penn State, Ebiketie is expected to compete for a starting job at outside linebacker this season after the Falcons traded up to pick No. 38 to acquire him back in April. Ebiketie had 9.5 sacks, 18 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles for the Nittany Lions last season. Atlanta released Dante Fowler Jr. and let Steven Means walk during free agency, freeing up both starting OLB spots. Ebiketie’s elite athleticism was one of his biggest draws coming out of college. “Ebiketie transferred from Temple to Penn State and proved his 2020 production was no fluke, wrote Pro Football Focus. “He beat up on quality tackles en route to a 90.5 pass-rushing grade and 52 pressures.” The Falcons signed Lorenzo Carter, who’s expected to start at the other outside linebacker spot this season. Atlanta also drafted EDGE DeAngelo Malone out of Western Kentucky in the third round. FALCONS WIRE
I'd say he was the prospect that the Falcons were most determined to land in this year's draft. They had been scouting him heavily as a senior at Temple in 2020, and again last year when he went on to a graduate year at Penn State rather than entering the 2021 draft. Once they had landed wide receiver Drake London at #8 overall, the overwhelming top need was a potential starting edge rusher. They traded their fourth rounder to the Giants to move up just five spots in the second round and make absolutely certain that they got Ebiketie. They're also looking to rebuild the culture and general mindset on defense, and they figure Ebikitie to be a core piece of that puzzle. The OLB group (edge rushers in Atlanta's new 3-4 system) will be very different compared to last year. I'm filling in Lorenzo Carter and Ebiketie as starters, with third rounder DeAngelo Malone and Ade Ogundeji (fifth rounder last year) in rotation. For that matter, the entire defense will be very different compared to last year. Based on the current roster, I'm projecting new starters at 9 of 11 positions - 6 new players (Ebikitie and five free agents), 3 younger players taking over starting roles, and only Grady Jarrett and A.J. Terrell repeating as starters.
And... props to the Giants for trading down. The Giants had pick #36. The Jets wanted to move up from #38 to make sure they got Breece Hall. They gave up a fifth rounder (#146) to move up just two spots. And then Atlanta gave up their fourth rounder (#114) to move up from #43 to take Ebiketie. So the G-Men dropped just seven total spots and gained an extra fourth and an extra fifth rounder. They took Wan'Dale Robinson at #43, Dane Belton at #114 and Micah McFadden with the #146.
Falcons DC Dean Pees: Atlanta only ran 60% of defense last year, ready for 100% in 2022 In Dean Pees' first season as defensive coordinator in Atlanta, the Falcons ranked near the bottom in most categories. The Falcons allowed 27 points per game (tied for 29th), 364.4 yards per game (26th), allowed 131.9 rush yards (27th), gave up 48.4 opponent third down percent (30th) and ranked last in the NFL in sacks with 18. Pees noted that the entire defense wasn't installed in the first year of the switch to the 3-4 system. "I just didn't feel like there were some things last year that we were probably going to be able to digest and be able to do," Pees said, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "The good thing is that we didn't give up a lot of big plays last year. We did a great job of keeping the ball inside in the perimeter and not giving up big plays." The Falcons didn't allow a pass play of 40-plus yards (No. 1 in NFL) and gave up 51 pass plays of 20-plus yards (15th). Entering the second campaign under the 72-year-old DC, Pees thinks his players are ready to run the full playbook. "I kind of know (that) the guys that are back kind of know what to expect," Pees said. "You know what we're really looking for. Last year, I'd say we put in, at the end of the year, maybe 60% of the defense that we really want to run. This year, it's going to be 100%." Pees noted that utilizing 60% of the defense was a calculated approach in Arthur Smith's first season at the helm. "Part of that was because we didn't overload them," Pees said. "Well, I think we've learned enough now that we can kind of not overload them, but we can add a lot more to it to be a little more aggressive than maybe we were last year." With the offense in flux following the trade of Matt Ryan, Atlanta will need the defense to take a step forward to avoid cratering from their 7-10 record in 2021. There are some building blocks to work with. Corner A.J. Terrell remains underrated as one of the stickiest cover men in the NFL. Grady Jarrett, who signed a three-year extension, can be a disruptor on the inside. Deion Jones is a rangy linebacker with star potential when healthy. And ATL added the likes of veteran CB Casey Hayward, linebacker Rashaan Evans, NT Eddie Goldman, and second-round linebacker Arnold Ebiketie. Still, there are glaring holes at edge rusher that Pees will have to answer if the Falcons D is to take a big leap forward in 2022. NFL.com
It's going to be interesting if there really are 9 new starters as I project. But a big item is that while Rashaan Evans is new in Atlanta, he did play for Pees in Tennessee. I'm thinking he'll be the guy wearing the green dot on his helmet. This also fits with how the team took it slowly in developing last year's second rounder Richie Grant. He did end up playing a lot at nickel after Isaiah Oliver got hurt, but the team didn't throw him into the fire at safety. Now that he's had a year to learn the system, he's projected to be one of the starters.
Eddie Goldman tells Falcons he’s retiring The Falcons recently signed defensive tackle Eddie Goldman to their 90-man roster, but the veteran won’t be around for training camp or the coming season. According to an announcement from the team, Goldman has informed the Falcons that he is retiring from the NFL. Goldman was set to make $1.12 million with $895,000 of his salary guaranteed. Goldman was a 2015 second-round pick by the Bears and he played for Chicago through last season, although he opted out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bears cut him in March to save money and he signed with the Falcons earlier this month. Goldman had 175 tackles, 13 sacks, and a fumble recovery in 81 games for the Bears. The Falcons now have Grady Jarrett, Ta'Quon Graham, Marlon Davidson, Anthony Rush, and Vincent Taylor on the top rungs of their defensive line depth chart. PFT
This is in no way surprising. He clearly hasn't had his head in football for several years. This is in line with his mysterious decisions to not be with the team after the year of opting out due to COVID. I'm not sure that his motivations have ever really come out, so not sure where it all comes from, but it was predictable based on the last few years. I hope he has a great time post-career - was a good player for a while, for Chicago.
As soon as I looked through the details of his past contracts with Chicago, I wasn't the least bit surprised either. Financially, he should be set for life. The pounding he would put on his body as a starting defensive lineman isn't worth the extra money he'd take in this year. Quite frankly, in his spot I'd retire too.
