- The Falcons announced the signing of defensive end Efe Obada. In a related move, Atlanta waived wide receiver Daje Johnson.
Falcons safety Charles Godfrey announced his retirement Wednesday after eight NFL seasons, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Godfrey, a career-long member of the NFC South, spent last season with the Falcons and re-signed with them in March on a one-year deal. However, a change of heart will end his football career at the age of 30.
Godfrey entered the league with the Panthers, who chose him out of Iowa in the third round of the 2008 draft. The 5-foot-11, 210-pounder went on to have a handful of productive years in Carolina, where he totaled 95 regular-season appearances, 75 starts, 11 interceptions, eight forced fumbles and three sacks. In Godfrey’s best statistical season, 2010, he piled up career highs in tackles (84), picks (five) and starts (16). His tenure with the Panthers ended in 2014 after they released him, and he then caught on with rival Atlanta. Godfrey appeared in eight games and picked up 10 tackles with the Falcons last season.
With Godfrey off their roster, the Falcons added a pair of offensive players – wide receiver Corey Washington and tight end Arthur Lynch – on Wednesday, per Ledbetter. Washington’s sole NFL playing experience came as a Giant in 2014, when he caught five passes for 52 yards and a touchdown. Lynch was a fifth-round pick of Miami in 2014, but he hasn’t appeared in a game yet.
Cornerback Desmond Trufant wants to hammer out an extension with the Falcons, sources close to the situation tell Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). However, the Falcons are not in any rush to extend the 2013 first-round pick. 
[RELATED: Roddy White, Devin Hester Plan To Play In 2016]
The Falcons surely want to keep Trufant for the long haul, but they also want to maintain consistency with regards to how they deal with their high-level players. When Julio Jones and Matt Ryan were coming to the end of their respective contracts, the team waited until they were one year out with both players to get down to brass tacks. With Trufant, there is some talk between the two sides about what a new deal might look like, but Atlanta has no plans of extending Trufant right now. Next offseason, however, we can expect to see more momentum. Trufant, predictably, is looking to become one of the highest-paid players on the Falcons and in the NFL overall.
The 25-year-old cornerback (26 in September), who hasn’t missed a game (or a start) in his three seasons in Atlanta, earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 2015. Trufant recorded 42 tackles, an interception, a sack, and a pair of fumble recoveries last season, and placed 13th out of 111 qualified cornerbacks according to Pro Football Focus’ grades. PFF also ranked Trufant as a top-five defender against the run, among corners.
Trufant’s 2017 option salary will be worth $8.026MM, though he and the Falcons could reach a long-term agreement at any time before or during the ’17 season.
So far today, we have had an influx of Falcons news. Atlanta released veteran return man Devin Hester and the team is reportedly considering veterans Dwight Freeney and O’Brien Schofield. Hester and former Falcons star Roddy White both plan continuing their playing careers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Recently-released return man Devin Hester has no plans on retiring, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. Same goes for former Falcons wide receiver Roddy White who is “in contact with a few teams” and wants to play in 2016. 
[RELATED: Falcons Considering Dwight Freeney, O’Brien Schofield]
Last month, White indicated that he wanted to continue playing, but he also said that he would only suit up for a contender. It’s not clear at this time if White is still holding out for a team that can win a ring in 2016.
“When my agent and I went down the list and I saw the teams that really needed wide receivers, I was like, ‘Wow, I really don’t want to go there,’” White said. “I knew I couldn’t win with any of those teams. At this point of my career, I don’t want to be dragging my feet in Week 13 just to have an opportunity to be 4-10 next week.”
White, 34, made four Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro in 2010, when he caught a career-high 110 passes for 1,389 yards and 10 touchdowns. Here at PFR, we listed White as an honorable mention when ranking the best players still available on the open market in May.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
After releasing veteran return man Devin Hester on Tuesday morning, the Falcons find themselves with three open spots on their 90-man roster. It’s possible that one or two of those spots could be filled with veteran defenders. Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff says the team is still looking at Dwight Freeney, per Andrew Hirsh of AtlantaFalcons.com (Twitter link). Meanwhile, coach Dan Quinn says the club is keeping tabs on old friend O’Brien Schofield (Twitter link). 
[RELATED: Redskins Won’t Consider Dwight Freeney]
Freeney, 36, worked out for the Falcons earlier this summer but the team decided to put him on the back burner as they evaluated other players already in-house. After tallying eight sacks in an abbreviated 2015 season, Freeney could make a lot of sense for Quinn & Co. The Falcons are currently slated to start Vic Beasley and Derrick Shelby at defensive end with support from Adrian Clayborn and Tyson Jackson. Recently, former NFL head coach and current analyst Mike Nolan opined that the Falcons should sign Freeney to improve their quarterback pressure. Last season, the Falcons finished with a league-worst 19 sacks.
Schofield, meanwhile, has been lobbying hard for a Falcons return. Until today, however, we haven’t heard much reciprocation from Atlanta.
“You know I’ll bring 100 percent to that locker room and to the field,” said Schofield in May. “And you know, without a shadow of a doubt, I would help that ballclub. I’m looking for a more dominant role as a nickel pass-rusher. I would have to be able to compete as the nickel rusher.”
The veteran, who signed a one-year, $1.7MM deal with Atlanta last year, finished out the year with 28 tackles, four tackles for losses, two sacks, 13 quarterback hits, and one forced fumble. The Falcons did make Schofield early on in the offseason, but it was not to the veteran’s liking. If Schofield were to sign with the Falcons now, it could be for the same sum he rejected a few months ago.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Falcons announced that they have released wide receiver/return specialist Devin Hester. 
Hester underwent toe surgery in January and is scheduled to earn $3MM in 2016, which made him a potential cap casualty. The 33-year-old Hester missed all but five games last season because of the issue and was pushing to make a full recovery this offseason. It would appear that the veteran has not bounced back in the way that Atlanta was hoping.
Hester joined the Falcons prior to the 2014 season and enjoyed his fourth Pro Bowl berth – his first since 2010. Hester returned 45 kicks for 1,128 yards and 18 punts for 240 yards, showing that he was still dangerous in the return game. It remains to be seen whether Hester will continue his NFL journey and build on his NFL record in return touchdowns (20) and punt return touchdowns (14).
With Hester out of the picture, Atlanta could turn to rookie wide receiver Devin Fuller, running back Tevin Coleman, or wide receiver Eric Weems to pick up the slack in the return game. As of this writing, the Falcons’ roster stands at 87 players.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
- The Falcons have waived center James Stone with an injury settlement, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Stone joined the Falcons as an undrafted free agent from Tennessee in 2014 and went on to appear in 19 games for Atlanta, starting 10. The vast majority of those appearances (12) and starts (nine) came in Stone’s rookie year. A torn ACL cut his 2015 season short in December, thus leading to the injury settlement. Stone’s departure leaves the Falcons with 88 players on their 90-man roster.
- D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution examines five players who might be considered longshots to make the Falcons‘ roster, and linebacker LaRoy Reynolds is among the group. The 25-year-old will be entering his fourth NFL season, and despite appearing in 43 career games, Reynolds has never earned a real shot at playing time, performing mostly on special teams.
After Roddy White amassed just 43 catches for 506 yards and a touchdown last season, the Falcons released their all-time leading receiver in March. The 34-year-old White, who remains a free agent, opened up about his 11th and final season in Atlanta to Dukes & Bell of WZGC-FM on Wednesday (link via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk).
Regarding the Falcons’ coaching staff, White commented, “I just feel like coming into the season they had a role for me and it wasn’t told [to] me before the season started,” adding that he didn’t complain “because it wasn’t going to change anything.”
White is now content to be out of of a Falcons uniform, saying, “I would have went crazy if I had to go through that another year. When I got released, it wasn’t like I wasn’t feeling like terrible because I was like, ‘I can’t play football like that,’ because I was just miserable. I knew that a lot of times that we had opportunities to win games and I wasn’t put in that position to make that play and I felt we lost those games because I wasn’t put in that position to make that plays.”
Had coordinator Kyle Shanahan involved White in the offense more, the wideout believes the Falcons would have made the playoffs. They instead turned a 6-1 start into an 8-8 overall mark en route to a third straight year without a postseason berth.
Julio Jones is unlikely to become the first wide receiver in NFL history to top the 2,000-yard mark, opines Jenna Laine of ESPN.com, noting that Jones was able to accrue his massive yardage total — 1,871, second-most in league history — because the Falcons didn’t have many other weapons for quarterback Matt Ryan to throw to.
Since last year, Atlanta has added fellow receiver Mohamed Sanu, signing the former Bengal to a five-year pact, and tight end Austin Hooper, selected in the third round of the draft. Plus, with center Alex Mack now on board, and running back Devonta Freeman hoping to excel again under second-year offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, the Falcons might not have to rely on the passing game quite as much.
- The Falcons tried to lure guard J.R. Sweezy to Atlanta during the free agent period, but the price tag on the former Seahawk eventually got too expensive, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Sweezy eventually signed with another NFC South club, inking a five-year, $32.5MM deal with the Buccaneers. The Falcons, meanwhile, will fill right guard with either veteran Chris Chester, who was re-signed over the offseason, or Mike Person.