- Falcons corner Desmond Trufant will earn nearly half of the money in his five-year, $68.75MM extension by next March, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Trufant is due $33MM over the next 11 months, and he’ll average $14.75MM per annum during the first three years of the deal.
- The Falcons have signed former University of Georgia track and field athlete Garrett Scantling, who will try and make the team as a receiver (Instagram link). Scantling has not played football since his senior year of high school. However, he performed well when partaking in Jacksonville University’s pro day last month.
Cornerback Desmond Trufant has agreed to an extension with the Falcons, reports Jordan Schultz of The Huffington Post (via Twitter). It’ll be a five-year deal worth $69MM, with nearly $42MM guaranteed.
This news shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, as we heard exactly a month ago that the two sides were working towards a “lucrative contract extension.” At the time, it was suggested that a Trufant extension would fall just below the five-year, $75MM contract that Josh Norman received from the Redskins last year, and that appears to be the case.
The 2013 first-round pick has been a consistent force in the Falcons secondary over the past four seasons. Trufant started all 48 games through his first three campaigns, and his 2015 performance earned him a Pro Bowl birth. A torn pectoral muscle sidelined Trufant for six games this past season, but the cornerback still managed to finish the year with 31 tackles, two sacks, one interception, and two forced fumbles. When he went down with the injury, Pro Football Focus had Trufant ranked as the 32nd-best cornerback in the NFL out of 119 qualified players.
Cornerback could arguably be the Falcons deepest position. Trufant will be joining a depth chart that features Robert Alford, Jalen Collins, Brian Poole, Deji Olatoye, C.J. Goodwin, and Blidi Wreh-Wilson.
- The Falcons will host Western Kentucky offensive lineman Forrest Lamp for a workout, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. While the Falcons boasted a solid front five last season, right guard was a clear area of weakness. Veteran Chris Chester has retired, meaning Lamp could conceivably immediately slide in between Alex Mack and Ryan Schraeder. Most NFL teams believe Lamp will come off the board in the 20s, however, meaning he may not be available when the Falcons pick at No. 31.
- Falcons offensive tackle Carter Bykowski has retired, reports Vaughn McClure of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bykowski, whom the 49ers chose in the seventh round of the 2013 draft, joined the Falcons in 2016 after a stint in Minnesota. He didn’t appear in any regular-season games during his career.
- The Falcons hope to come to an extension agreement with cornerback Desmond Trufant “very soon,” Atlanta general manager Thomas Dimitroff tells Alex Marvez of the Sporting News. Earlier this month, a report indicated the Falcons and Trufant were nearing a “lucrative” long-term deal, but no announcement has since been made by the club. Atlanta is also planning to get a contract with running back Devonta Freeman “wrapped up,” per Dimitroff. In January, Freeman was said to be seeking “elite” running back money, but he and his agent have since walked those comments back.
- Veteran guard Chris Chester isn’t in the Falcons‘ plans for 2017, and the team ultimately expects him to retire, according to Marvez. Chester, entering his age-34 season, was the weak link on a solid Atlanta offensive line in 2016. PFR pointed to right guard as an area of need when assessing the Falcons’ offseason strategy, and while the club has only added Hugh Thornton in free agency, they could still address the interior offensive line in the draft.
Offensive lineman Forrest Lamp is starting to look like a Round 1 lock, according to Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com. Lamp, a Western Kentucky product, will likely play guard in the NFL after playing tackle in college, but he offers versatility that intrigues clubs, as he could slide to the blindside or even to center if needed. The Packers and Vikings both have interest in Lamp, per Pauline, as do the Seahawks. The Falcons, Panthers, and Titans have all put Lamp through a workout, reports Pauline.
Free agent fullback Will Johnson recently met with the Falcons and Jets, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com.
Johnson, 27, was released by the Giants earlier this month, although he suggested he could end up re-signing with Big Blue on a cheaper deal. After spending four seasons in Pittsburgh (and appearing in 63 games during that period), Johnson missed the entirety of the 2016 campaign after suffering nerve damage in his deltoid muscle.
Atlanta signed two fullbacks — including veteran Derrick Coleman — earlier this week, but that shouldn’t stop the club from taking a look at Johnson. Last season, the Falcons deployed a fullback with regularity, as Patrick DiMarco played 324 offensive snaps, third among all NFL fullbacks. DiMarco has since signed with the Bills, leaving a void in Atlanta’s offense.
The Jets were on the other end of the spectrum in terms of fullback use: Julian Howsare lead all Gang Green fullbacks with a whopping three offensive snaps. Former offensive coordinator Chan Gailey didn’t utilize the fullback in his scheme, but new play-caller John Morton may want to, as the Saints (Morton’s former employer) used a fullback on roughly a quarter of their plays. New York doesn’t currently have a fullback on its roster.
The Falcons announced the signing of three players on Tuesday afternoon. They have added fullbacks Derrick Coleman and Soma Vainuku plus guard Hugh Thornton. 
Prior to today, the Falcons didn’t have any fullbacks on the roster, so Coleman and Vainuku now make up their entire FB depth chart. Of course, when all is said and done, they could carry just one fullback, or possibly none if they do not care about prioritizing lead blocking. The Falcons lost one of the league’s best fullbacks this offseason when Patrick DiMarco signed with the Bills in free agency.
You might remember Coleman from his time with the Seahawks. An alleged hit-and-run incident in 2015 kept him out of football in 2016, but he avoided jail by agreeing to 240 hours of community service plus 12 months of community supervision. Although he is out of the woods in terms of legal trouble, he still has to serve a four-game NFL suspension. We had him ranked as one of the best remaining fullbacks on the board heading into Tuesday.
Thornton, 26 in June, started 32 games for the Colts from 2013-2015. The former third-round pick has been held back by injuries and has not seen regular season action since December 2015.
The Falcons have signed team president and CEO Rich McKay to an extension. The new five-year deal will take him through June 2022. 
“Rich has been so important to our businesses and Atlanta’s growth for many years. We are thrilled to extend his contract with the Falcons and AMB Sports & Entertainment,” said team executive Steve Cannon in a press release. “He has been instrumental in the success of the Atlanta Falcons on and off the field and has played a very important role in making Mercedes-Benz Stadium a reality, and in bringing Major League Soccer to Atlanta. Rich is a great champion of our core values and will continue to be a strong leader in our organization and community for years to come.”
McKay, who has been with the Falcons since 2004, helped to make the Falcons’ forthcoming new stadium a reality. The exec was initially hired in 2004 as the Falcons’ president and general manager, but he was elevated to his present title in 2011, pushing him more towards the business end of things. The Falcons’ statement highlights McKay’s many achievements, including his role on the league’s competition committee and his work to help renegotiate and extend the current collective bargaining agreement. McKay was suspended from the competition committee in the wake of the team’s artificial crowd noise scandal.