Atlanta Falcons Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

Falcons To Sign CB Fabian Moreau

March 24th, 2021 at 4:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

Former Washington cornerback Fabian Moreau will head to Atlanta. The Falcons are signing the veteran cover man, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. It’s a one-year deal.

A former third-round Washington draftee, Moreau played in the slot and outside at points with his original team. The Falcons, who added longtime Washington exec Kyle Smith to their front office this year, will bring in Moreau to help their secondary.

Moreau will join a secondary that fared poorly in Dan Quinn and Raheem Morris‘ final seasons with the Falcons. The Falcons ranked last in pass defense in 2020. They have a young group of corners, headed by 2020 first-round pick A.J. Terrell, due back but certainly will need some outside help going into Dean Pees‘ first season as DC.

After Moreau enjoyed a steady gig for the 2018 and ’19 Washington squads, Ron Rivera reduced his role last season. The UCLA product played just 15% of Washington’s defensive snaps in 2020. Washington was still believed to be interested in re-signing Moreau, per ESPN.com’s John Keim (on Twitter). Instead, Moreau will head to Atlanta looking to bounce back. He should be expected to see more frequent playing time than he did last season.

Falcons To Sign Barkevious Mingo

March 23rd, 2021 at 9:29am CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons have agreed to sign linebacker Barkevious Mingo (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). His one-year deal is worth $1.25MM with $1.1MM guaranteed, according to ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein.

Mingo, a 6’5″, 235-pound ‘backer, spent last year with the Bears. He appeared in 36% of the team’s snaps but played a much larger role on special teams. On defense, he finished with a total of 35 stops and 2.5 sacks while appearing in all 16 games.

The LSU product entered the league with lofty expectations as the No. 6 overall pick in the 2013 draft. That pick didn’t exactly work out for the Browns, but Mingo has enjoyed a solid career over the last eight years. His 2016 stop in New England yielded a Super Bowl ring and he’s now signed for his ninth season in the league.

Mingo will be joined by lots of fellow fresh faces in Atlanta, including the newly-signed Mike Davis.

Falcons To Sign Mike Davis

March 23rd, 2021 at 9:18am CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons are set to sign running back Mike Davis to a two-year contract, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The former Falcons running back will earn $5.5MM in the deal with $3MM fully guaranteed in the first year.

Davis filled-in for Christian McCaffrey last year and turned in a solid year with 1,015 all-purpose yards and eight total touchdowns. Even though his averages of 3.9 yards per carry and 6.3 yards per grab weren’t quite CMC numbers, Davis demonstrated his value as a reliable and durable veteran.

Before that, the 28-year-old joined the Panthers as a waiver wire claim. Although he’s bounced around, Davis isn’t just a one-hit wonder. He averaged 4.6 yards per carry with the Seahawks in 2018 to go along with four rushing touchdowns.

Now, Davis will stay in the division as he joins Ito Smith and Qadree Ollison on Atlanta’s RB depth chart.

Draft Pick Updates: Vikings, Saints, Raiders, Patriots

March 20th, 2021 at 8:10am CST by Ben Levine

The Vikings are down a draft pick. Per Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (on Twitter), the Vikings have forfeited a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft (No. 242).

“A mistake was made, we take responsibility and we respect the league’s decision and will move forward,” general manager Rick Spielman said in a statement.

Per Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com, the punishment is regarding an infraction from 2019. There was some kind of violation of a practice squad player’s contract, but it’s uncertain who the player was or what the violation was.

Three Vikings executives were also fined $10K each, per Smith.

Some more draft notes from around the NFL:

Neither the Saints nor Raiders will lose a draft due to violations of the COVID-19 policies, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. “They are not forfeiting them,” McCarthy said. “Neither team will lose those picks.” According to the reporter, there were rumblings that New Orleans would lose a seventh-round pick following a “mask-less locker room celebration,” and the Raiders were expected to lose a sixth-rounder due to multiple violations. While the NFL didn’t provide any context on their decision, Florio assumes both organizations appealed their penalties and were successful.
When the NFL announced the compensatory picks for the 2021 draft, the Patriots did not have a fifth-round pick. However, a source confirmed to PFT that New England had indeed received a fifth-rounder in the upcoming draft. According to Smith, the NFL “realized a mistake in its calculation of the complex formula for determining compensatory picks,” leading to the extra Patriots selection.
Thanks to the aforementioned compensatory-pick audit by the NFL, the Falcons are also moving two slots in the fifth round, according to Smith. Further, while the NFL only allows the addition of 32 compensatory picks each year, they’ve made an exception this time around. Thanks to the additional Patriots draft pick, the Bears normally wouldn’t have received that final compensatory pick; the NFL and NFL Players Association allowed Chicago to ultimately keep that selection.

Falcons To Sign Brandon Copeland

March 19th, 2021 at 1:33pm CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons have agreed to a one-year deal with Brandon Copeland (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). The former Patriots linebacker missed much of last season with a torn pec, but he’s closing in on a complete recovery.

[RELATED: Falcons To Sign Harris]

Copeland, an ex-Jets and Lions contributor, also drew interest from the Giants. It’s not clear whether the incumbent Pats tried to bring him back or not. Before the injury, Copeland was ticketed for a major role as Dont’a Hightower’s fill-in. He wound up playing in just six games with four starts, but Pro Football Focus gave him strong grades in that limited sample.

His 2018 Jets season marked his only year as a starter. In 16 games, he notched five sacks and 14 quarterback hits. So far, that’s his only season with more than two sacks.

Terms of the deal are not yet known, but this could prove to be a strong value signing for Atlanta. At least, that’s the hope, given how quiet the Falcons’ week has been.

LB Brandon Copeland To Visit Falcons, Giants

March 18th, 2021 at 2:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

Despite suffering a torn pectoral muscle last season, Brandon Copeland has generated some interest as a free agent. The veteran linebacker plans to meet with the Falcons and Giants, per Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan and ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein (Twitter links).

The Giants visit occurred Thursday, per Caplan, who adds the Falcons meeting will also occur this week (Twitter link). Copeland suffered the chest injury in late October, ending his Patriots season after six games.

A former Lions and Jets contributor, Copeland signed with the Patriots last year. The Pats, who both lost multiple key linebackers in free agency and saw Dont’a Hightower opt out of last season, used Copeland as a starter in four games. Pro Football Focus viewed the five-year vet’s abbreviated work well, slotting him near the top of its 2020 linebacker hierarchy.

The Lions used Copeland as a backup from 2016-17, but he broke into the 2018 Jets’ starting lineup. Copeland worked as a pass rusher that season, recording five sacks and 14 quarterback hits. That marked the veteran linebacker’s only season with more than two sacks. The 2021 season will be Copeland’s age-30 slate.

Falcons To Sign Erik Harris

March 18th, 2021 at 11:37am CST by Zachary Links

Former Raiders safety Erik Harris is heading to the Falcons, according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic (on Twitter). Terms of the deal are not yet known.

After spending his first season with the Saints, Harris found his way to Oakland in 2017. Since then, he’s spent the last four years with the Raiders, all the way through 2020 in Las Vegas. Playing primarily at free safety, he’s made 30 starts for the Raiders out of 61 total appearances. Harris, 31 in April, finished 2020 with 61 total stops, five passes defensed, and one forced fumble.

Harris will help Atlanta replace Ricardo Allen, who was cut recently to save $6.25MM against the cap. Safeties Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal are also out of contract and seem likely to sign elsewhere. For now, that group is headlined by Harris and 2020 fourth-round pick Jaylinn Hawkins.

Falcons Restructure Matt Ryan’s Deal

March 17th, 2021 at 2:57pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Atlanta has gotten under the salary cap just ahead of the start of the new league year. They’ve done it in part by restructuring the contract of Matt Ryan, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com writes. Zach Klein of WSB was first to tweet the news.

Atlanta converted $21MM of Ryan’s $23MM base salary for this upcoming season and turned it into a signing bonus to spread it out over the duration of his contract, which runs through 2023. The move knocked Ryan’s 2021 cap number down about $14MM, Rothstein writes.

As he points out, this isn’t breaking any new ground, as this is the third time Ryan’s contract has been restructured. The move allows the Falcons to get under the cap for now, and also could be indicative that they have Ryan in their long-term plans.

There had been some speculation the team would look to move on before too long, but this restructure makes it a lot harder to get out of his contract. He’ll now have a dead cap number north of $40MM in 2022. Ryan will turn 36 in May, and new coach Arthur Smith has insisted he isn’t planning on blowing things up. This move would be consistent with that.

Falcons’ Dante Fowler Takes Pay Cut

March 17th, 2021 at 9:32am CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons have a little extra room to work with. Edge rusher Dante Fowler has agreed to a pay cut for the coming year, as Jeff Schultz of The Athletic tweets.

Fowler joined the Falcons on a three-year, $48MM deal last year, but didn’t produce in his first season with the team. The Florida product posted just three sacks and four tackles for a loss, versus 11.5 sacks and 16 tackles in the previous season with the Rams.

Before that, Fowler spent the first four-plus seasons of his career with the Jaguars, including a rookie campaign that was wiped out thanks to a torn ACL. The Falcons had high hopes for him, especially since he found national fame playing under then-head coach Dan Quinn at UF.

Fowler was originally set for an $18.5MM cap hit with $13MM in base salary. Terms of the revised deal have not been disclosed, but the Falcons will save on both portions.

Bills Trade TE Lee Smith To Falcons

March 16th, 2021 at 7:11pm CST by Rory Parks

The Bills are trading veteran tight end Lee Smith to the Falcons, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Buffalo will get a 2022 late-round selection in the swap.

Smith signed a three-year, $9MM pact with the Bills in May 2019, but that deal was heavily front-loaded. Today’s trade leaves no dead money on Buffalo’s books and will clear $2.25MM in cap space. Smith was due a $250K roster bonus on March 21, as Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic tweets.

Now 33, Smith has caught just 64 passes for 458 yards over his 10-year career. But his blocking ability has allowed him to stick in the pros for as long as he has, and he will now take those skills to Atlanta. He will likely serve as a replacement for Luke Stocker, another veteran TE known more for his blocking prowess than his receiving talents.

Smith joins Hayden Hurst and Jaeden Graham in the Falcons’ TE room. He is due a $1.9MM salary in 2021.

Atlanta Falcons News & Rumors