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Atlanta Falcons News & Rumors

Falcons To Release Ron Parker

August 31st, 2018 at 1:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

Ron Parker‘s stay in Atlanta turned out to be short. The Falcons are releasing the veteran defensive back, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Parker announced his release.

The Falcons signed the safety as a possible depth piece during the summer. Parker started four seasons with the Chiefs, serving as Eric Berry‘s top back-line sidekick and frequently defending slot receivers.

The Chiefs released Parker in March. Atlanta returns starters Ricardo Allen and Keanu Neal, with the former signing an extension earlier this summer. Parker played five seasons with the Chiefs, shifting from cornerback to safety. He’s on the market again, not having to pass through waivers, in advance of what would be his age-31 season.

Atlanta acquired safety Jordan Richards in a trade with New England earlier Friday, and Parker looks like the odd man out. Damontae Kazee, a 2017 fifth-round pick, remains on the roster as well, Kemal Ishmael re-signed with the Falcons this offseason.

Patriots Trade Jordan Richards To Falcons

August 31st, 2018 at 10:37am CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots have traded safety Jordan Richards to the Falcons, according to Jim McBride of the Boston Globe (on Twitter). The Patriots will receive a conditional 2020 seventh-round pick from Atlanta in the trade, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 

With the roster deadline coming on Saturday, Richards apparently was not going to make the cut. Although he was a second-round pick in 2015, the strong safety hasn’t done much to impress over three years with the Pats.

Last year, Richards appeared in all 16 games (five starts) and totaled 22 tackles plus one forced fumble. Pro Football Focus ranked Richards the No. 78 safety in the NFL last year out of 87 qualified players, so it’s not a total shock to see him jettisoned from New England.

Assuming Richards makes the 53-man cut in Atlanta, he’ll serve as a reserve behind starting strong safety Ricardo Allen. The Falcons will start former first-round pick Keanu Neal at free safety with Ron Parker serving as the top backup.

Falcons Sign K Giorgio Tavecchio

August 27th, 2018 at 9:57am CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons have signed former Raiders kicker Giorgio Tavecchio, according to a team announcement. The move gives the Falcons three kickers on their roster for the time being. 

Tavecchio, 28, was released by the Raiders this year, despite a decent 2017 season in which he made 16 of 21 field goal attempts, including three from 50-plus yards. He also made 33 of his 34 extra point attempts last year.

Tavecchio will compete with Matt Bryant – the Falcons’ all-time leading scorer – and Georgia product David Marvin for the team’s kicking job. The game of musical chairs won’t last long with roster cuts coming on Saturday.

The Falcons inked Bryant to a three-year, $10.5MM extension in March to make him one of the ten highest-paid kickers in the NFL. The deal included a $2MM signing bonus, so that would be a sunk cost for Atlanta if they release him.

Last year, Bryant nailed 87.2% of his field goals, good for 12th in the NFL. He also sank eight-of-nine attempts from 50 yards or more.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/25/18

August 25th, 2018 at 8:32pm CST by Ben Levine

Atlanta Falcons

Detroit Lions

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/20/18

August 20th, 2018 at 2:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: FB Jalston Fowler, WR Julian Williams
  • Waived: FB Luke McNitt, WR Taj Williams

Indianapolis Colts

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/11/18

August 11th, 2018 at 4:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Saturday’s minor moves.

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: CB Ryan Neal
  • Waived: T Kendall Calhoun

Denver Broncos

  • Claimed off waivers from Bengals: T Austin Fleer

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed: DL Lord Hyeamang

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Released from IR: TE Adam Zaruba

Tennessee Titans

  • Signed: DB Trey Caldwell, DB Kenneth Durden
  • Waived: CB Jarell Carter, CB Joseph Este

Washington Redskins

Falcons Work Out Giorgio Tavecchio

August 8th, 2018 at 11:30am CST by Zachary Links

Kicker Giorgio Tavecchio worked out for the Falcons this week, a source tells Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (on Twitter). Tavecchio was waived by the Raiders on Friday, making him a free agent. 

The Tavecchio audition could be an indication that the Falcons have some doubts about 43-year-old Matt Bryant. That would be somewhat surprising, since the Falcons inked Bryant to a three-year, $10.5MM extension in March to make him one of the ten highest-paid kickers in the NFL. The deal included a $2MM signing bonus, so that would be a sunk cost for Atlanta if they release him.

Last year, Bryant nailed 87.2% of his field goals, good for 12th in the NFL. He also sank eight-of-nine attempts from 50 yards or more, so his power hasn’t deteriorated much. Tavecchio, meanwhile, made 16 of his 21 field goal attempts with the Raiders in 2017 (76%), including three-of-four tries from 50 yards or further.

The Falcons also have Georgia UDFA kicker David Marvin on the 90-man roster.

Falcons, S Ricardo Allen Agree To Extension

August 6th, 2018 at 1:26pm CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons have agreed to a three-year extension with safety Ricardo Allen, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The pact, worth $19.5MM, will keep Allen in place through the 2021 season. 

The Falcons retained Allen this offseason by assigning the $2.914MM restricted free agent tender to him. He took his time before signing the deal, waiting until June to ink the contract. Allen took a small gamble by waiting to sign his tender, but the Falcons were unlikely to pull it the given his past performance.

In four seasons with the team, Allen has played in 46 games, including 45 starts. All in all, he has made six interceptions, ten deflected passes, one fumble recovery, and 158 tackles. Allen made it clear that he wanted to play in Atlanta beyond the 2018 season and the interest was mutual, so it was only a matter of time before a deal came together.

The $6.5MM average annual value on the deal puts Allen in the top 20 amongst all NFL safeties. Currently, four other safeties – Glover Quin (Lions), Barry Church (Jaguars), Jaquiski Tartt (49ers), and Eric Weddle (Ravens) – make the same per year on average.

Still, it’s a reasonably priced deal that should give the Falcons enough room to work out an extension with defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. Meanwhile, Allen has obtained financial security that will spare him from testing a weak market for free agent safeties.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/30/18

July 30th, 2018 at 5:10pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville Jaguars

Oakland Raiders

Seattle Seahawks

Falcons, Ricardo Allen Discussing Extension

July 30th, 2018 at 1:43pm CST by Zachary Links

After reaching a compromise with Julio Jones and locking up left tackle Jake Matthews, the Falcons are moving on to other offseason priorities. With that in mind, the Falcons are meeting with agent Drew Rosenhaus in Atlanta to discuss an extension for safety Ricardo Allen, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 

The Falcons retained Allen this offseason by assigning the $2.914MM restricted free agent tender to him. He took his time before signing the deal, waiting until June to ink the contract. Allen took a small gamble by waiting to sign his tender, but the Falcons were unlikely to pull the given his past performance.

In four seasons with the team, Allen has played in 46 games, including 45 starts. All in all, he has made six interceptions, ten deflected passes, one fumble recovery, and 158 tackles. Allen has made it clear that he wants to play in Atlanta beyond the 2018 season and the interest in mutual.

Still, there are a couple of factors working against Rosenhaus and Allen. First, Rosenhaus will have to fight something of an uphill battle given the weakness of this year’s free agent market for safeties. The Falcons also must leave enough flexibility in the cap for a new deal with defensive tackle Grady Jarrett.

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