Dontari Poe is excited about the opportunity he has with the Falcons, but the defensive tackle understand that he needs to be in shape if he wants to be productive. Talking to ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure, Poe said head coach Dan Quinn echoed that sentiment.
Restricted free agent cornerback Malcolm Butler didn’t emerge from his Saints visit on Thursday with a deal, but the meeting “went well,” a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). As of now, there remains motivation on both sides to hammer out an agreement, Rapoport adds. PFR’s Zach Links laid out a few potential scenarios earlier this week involving Butler, who would surely net the Patriots a quality return in a trade.
More free agency-related news:
- The offer that defensive tackle Dontari Poe accepted from the Falcons on Thursday was worth less than the Jaguars’ proposal, reports ESPN’s Josina Anderson (Twitter link). Before taking a one-year, $8MM deal (plus incentives) with the reigning NFC champions, Poe turned down the Jags’ fully guaranteed $9MM (and incentives). Head coach Dan Quinn was key in talking Poe into joining the Falcons, relays Anderson.
- It doesn’t appear that linebacker Zach Brown‘s powwow with the Raiders will lead to a deal, as a source told ESPN’s Adam Caplan that it “looks like a no-go right now” (Twitter link). Although Brown had a stellar 2016 with Buffalo and currently ranks as PFR’s top available linebacker, the market for his services has been tepid.
- Wide receiver Andre Holmes met with the Bills on Thursday, one day after there were reports that he had signed with them, per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (via Twitter). It turns out the Bills offered Holmes a three-year, $4.5MM accord, which the NFLPA accidentally documented as a done deal.
- Linebacker Dekoda Watson visited the Seahawks on Thursday, tweets ESPN’s Field Yates. The 29-year-old Watson is a journeyman who has played for five teams, including the Broncos last season. He served as an integral special teams cog in Denver, which would like to re-sign him.
One of the best free agents left on the board is now spoken for. The Falcons have signed defensive tackle Dontari Poe, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a one-year, $8MM deal but he can make up to $10MM through incentives. 
Scott Pioli, the Falcons’ assistant GM, drafted Poe in Kansas City. Now, they’ll be reunited in Atlanta where Poe projects to start next to Grady Jarrett in the Falcons’ 4-3 set. Adrian Clayborn and Brooks Reed are the starters on the bookends.
Poe was making the free agent rounds this week and also had interest from the Dolphins, Jaguars, Colts, and other clubs. Reportedly, some teams were wary of signing Poe to a multi-year pact because of his ongoing back problems. Today’s agreement gives Poe a decent one-year deal but he’ll have to prove himself all over again if he wants to cash in next year. Initially, it seemed like Poe was in play for this type of average annual value on a five-year deal.
Apparently, Poe preferred a one-year deal over taking a long-term contract that would have given him a weaker AAV. The Colts were willing to give him multiple years, but that offer was apparently not to his liking. The Chiefs exited the bidding when they signed former Eagles defensive tackle Bennie Logan to a free agent deal.
The Falcons signed wide receiver Andre Roberts, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). He gets a one-year deal worth $1.8MM with $750K guaranteed. 
Roberts had a disappointing first season in Detroit, but the Lions were still among the teams in the mix to sign him this month. The Patriots also were said to have interest.
The 29-year-old’s best season came back in 2012 with the Cardinals, when he finished with 64 receptions for 759 yards and five touchdowns. Unfortunately for him, the emergence of Michael Floyd bumped him down the pecking order in Arizona, leading him to join up with the Redskins in 2013. His two years in D.C. and one year in Detroit have not yielded 2012-type numbers. In 2016, Roberts finished out with 14 receptions for 188 yards and one touchdown.
Roberts now figures to be the Falcons’ No. 3 WR behind Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu. Justin Hardy, Devin Fuller, and Nick Williams are also under contract. Receivers Taylor Gabriel and Eric Weems remain in free agent limbo while Aldrick Robinson has followed coach Kyle Shanahan to San Francisco.
The Falcons reached an agreement to retain safety Kemal Ishmael on a one-year deal, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter). A part-time starter during his first four seasons in Atlanta, Ishmael agreed to a $2.5MM contract.
Atlanta wanted to retain its former seventh-round find prior to free agency and will do so four days into the process. Ishmael started four games for the NFC champions last season and has opened with the Falcons’ first unit in 19 games during his tenure in Georgia.
Ishmael arrived in 2013’s final draft round out of Central Florida and won’t turn 25 until May. He played 310 snaps for the 2016 Falcons and figures to slot in as a depth piece behind Ricardo Allen and Keanu Neal in 2017. Ishmael’s most notable season came in 2014, when he started 10 games for Atlanta and made 96 tackles. He notched four of his five career interceptions that season.
The NFC’s No. 2-seeded team did not have Ishmael for its three playoff games, however, after a shoulder injury sent the 24-year-old defender to IR.
The Falcons are set to meet with Dontari Poe in the next 24 hours, according to Falcons PR staff member Kelsey Conway (on Twitter). The Falcons have been said to have interest in the free agent defensive tackle. Now, it seems, things are getting a little more serious.
Poe visited the Colts on Sunday and although he did not leave with a deal, the meeting reportedly went well. Today, Poe is huddling up with the Jaguars. The 26-year-old has also garnered interest from the Dolphins, Raiders, and 49ers. The Colts were are open to a long-term deal for Po, but he might prefer a one-year pact that would allow him to rebuild his value before trying the market again next year. Clubs reportedly are concerned about Poe’s lingering back issues. If he can have a strong 2017 and stay healthy, he could be among next year’s top free agent earners.
The Falcons are looking to revamp the defensive line this offseason. Poe, who ranked as PFR’s No. 4 free agent interior defender heading into March 9, would slot in at defensive tackle next to Grady Jarrett and Ra’Shede Hageman. Hageman and Jarrett improved in 2016, but Atlanta’s front four still ranked in the bottom half of the league last year in adjusted line yards allowed and adjusted sack rate.
Despite talk of him being unhappy with his current contract, Falcons running back Devonta Freeman says he has no plans to seek a trade out of Atlanta, ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure writes. 
“This is coming out of my mouth: I definitely know I’m going to be playing for the Atlanta Falcons,” Freeman said. “This is the team I want to play for. I’m almost 100 percent for sure business will be taken care of because we’re all in this thing to win and have success.”
During Super Bowl week, Freeman’s agent Kristin Campbell made waves by saying she wanted Freeman to be paid like an “elite” running back. The timing was not ideal, but GM Thomas Dimitroff said it wasn’t really a distraction for the team. Then, days ago, Kristin’s husband Luther Campbell (better known as Uncle Luke of 2 Live Crew fame) fired off a tweet that seemed to indicate a trade request could be coming down the pike. Now, Freeman has put such talk to rest.
Freeman is coming off his second consecutive regular season with 1,000+ rushing yards, 13+ all-purpose touchdowns, and upwards of 50 receptions. He racked up those numbers despite splitting carries with 2015 third-round pick Tevin Coleman.
Freeman’s contract is set to expire after the 2017 season. Barring an extension, he’ll carry a modest ~$1.92MM cap number before being eligible for free agency.
The Colts are meeting with defensive tackle Dontari Poe today, and while the club is willing to ink him to a long-term deal, Poe may be more open to a one-year pact, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Indy is “trying to get something done” in regards to a contract, Poe tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Poe will visit with the Falcons, Dolphins, and Raiders next, per Poe.
Given the reported level of interest in Poe — in addition the clubs listed above, the Jaguars and 49ers are eyeing the 26-year-old — he should be able to garner a multi-year contract, but if the structure and guarantees of the proposals he’s receiving are not to his liking, Poe could instead accept a one-year deal, as Jason Cole of Bleacher Report indicated earlier this week. Given league-wide lingering concerns about Poe’s back (an issue Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweeted about Thursday), Poe may want the opportunity to show he’s healthy before hitting the market again in 2018.
Poe served as a lane clogger in Kansas City but was a dynamo in terms of snaps played, logging more than any nose man during his rookie-deal tenure in Kansas City. But his sack totals decreased, plummeting from 10.5 between the 2013 and ’14 seasons (both Pro Bowl slates) to 2.5 combined in 2015 and ’16.
Brandon Williams set the market for true defensive tackles earlier this week, signing a hefty five-year, $52.5MM deal with the Ravens. Veteran Calais Campbell also scored on the open market, landing a $15MM annual salary on his four-year deal with Jacksonville.
It hasn’t been an overly positive week for the Redskins, who became the first team in NFL history to lose two 1,000-yard receivers from the previous year in the same offseason. They lost Chris Baker and fired GM Scot McCloughan as well. Washington, though, did add Terrelle Pryor on a one-year deal, and before DeSean Jackson‘s Buccaneers agreement became finalized made a late push to keep him, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Reports continued to push Jackson out of Washington due to salary escalation, and the Bucs’ three-year, $33.5MM deal (with $20MM in guarantees) proved to be what the 30-year-old deep threat preferred.
Here’s more from the NFC.
- The Eagles attempted to trade Mychal Kendricks in yet another offseason but saw most of his 2017 salary become guaranteed on Friday. A Kendricks trade would create just $1.8MM in cap space, but a source tells Dave Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com there’s still a chance he’s dealt. The 26-year-old played just 27 percent of Philly’s defensive snaps last season.
- Cordarrelle Patterson has visited three teams — the Redskins, Raiders and Bears — but may want to stay with the Vikings. The fifth-year wideout/return man said on Snapchat (via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press), “All I am hearing is stay with the Vikings!! Trust me I want to… But we all know business is business … So what you (going to) do, Rick.” It’s safe assume “Rick” is Vikings GM Rick Spielman. The Vikings did not pick up Patterson’s fifth-year option in 2016, but given his productivity as a return man (five career kick-return touchdowns, two first-team All-Pro distinctions), it’s reasonable to suggest the Vikes would want him back at a price cheaper than the $7.915MM it would have cost them to pick up that option.
- Rex Burkhead visited the Falcons today, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. This marks the first update on Burkhead since he became a free agent. He rated as PFR’s No. 7 UFA running back this year. Given a bigger role with the Bengals after Giovani Bernard went down, Burkhead averaged 4.6 yards per carry last season and gained 489 yards from scrimmage on 91 touches. The Falcons, of course, have one of the best backfields in football, so Burkhead wouldn’t stand to leapfrog Devonta Freeman or Tevin Coleman.
- Prior to Marcus Cooper signing with the Bears, the Saints expressed interest in the fifth-year cornerback, Herbie Teope of NOLA.com reports.
- The NFL will strip the Patriots of the fourth-round pick they acquired from the Saints (No. 118) in the Brandin Cooks deal. (This represents the last Deflategate penalty.) But Mike Florio of Pro Football talk argued the Saints should have worked the phones to attempt to trade down from that spot. However, the trade became official on Saturday afternoon. The pick will now essentially disappear, unless New England acquires a higher fourth-round pick. The Patriots must forfeit their highest fourth-round pick, which was No. 132 prior to the Cooks trade, as part of the Deflategate penalty. Florio argues the Saints should have called teams that picked in between Nos. 119-131 to trade down — thus sending that selection to the Patriots — while picking up a minor return from another team in doing so.
T.J. Lang has now visited two teams and may have a final answer soon. The longtime Packers guard just completed a visit with the Seahawks and plans to have an answer for them by Sunday, Jordan Schultz of the Huffington Post reports (on Twitter).
Having already visited the Lions as well, the Falcons expressed interest in the 29-year-old guard as well. But Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports the Falcons no longer believe they’re in the mix for Lang’s third contract. Lang had a visit scheduled with the Broncos, but that did not end up materializing after Denver signed Ronald Leary to a four-year deal on the first day of free agency.
As of Thursday, the Packers had interest in retaining Lang as well. The last of the high-end guards left unattached, Lang would become by far Seattle’s highest-paid lineman. Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com connected him to a deal that could pay as much as $10MM per year.
No team spent less on its O-line last season than did Seattle, and the Seahawks have experienced issues up front for the past two years. Pro Football Focus ranked the Seahawks’ line last in the league. Lang finished as a top-10 guard, per PFF, last season and was PFR’s No. 2-rated UFA guard coming into free agency. Seattle added Luke Joeckel on a one-year deal earlier this week, but a Lang pact would stand to make a bigger difference based on his past performance.
The Falcons have much more committed to their line, having Ryan Schraeder signed for $6.3MM per year and Alex Mack for $9MM annually. Andy Levitre still has $12MM-plus remaining on his contract, and Jake Matthews is entering a contract year. Levitre has a $6.6MM cap number this year.