In November 2008, one of the first big in-season moves of the Thomas Dimitroff-Mike Smith regime with the Falcons was to sign defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux to a five-year, $25 million contract extension.
It was a bold move, and Babineaux has rewarded the team with some strong play, although he surprisingly has never been selected to a Pro Bowl. Babineaux is set to collect on the full contract before becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
The Falcons have a decision to make on Babineaux, who turned 32 on Oct. 10, and defensive tackles Corey Peters and Peria Jerry. All three said they want to return.
“We’re always in an evaluation process,” Smith said. “We are evaluated every time that we go out on the field. These guys have helped us win a lot of games up to this point, through the last five years. Jonathan has had really good seasons and really good games for us. So has Peria and so has Corey.”
If all three become unrestricted free agents, the Falcons will gut another position on defense. Last season, they allowed three of their top five cornerbacks to leave.
In addition to the secondary exodus, they lost defensive end John Abraham, the team’s sack leader, and defensive tackle Vance Walker after last season. Abraham said he was told by the team that his departure was a business decision. He signed with Arizona. Walker signed a modest deal with Oakland.
Babineaux wants to finish this season strong. He has 38 tackles, leads the team with seven tackles for losses and has a sack.
“I’m disappointed, definitely, as far as the outcome of the season thus far,” Babineaux said. “I can honestly say that these last few weeks, we have been getting better since we realized that if we can stay together and continue to fight that we can do some good things around here.”
Babineaux, who was selected in the second round of the 2005 draft by the Falcons, has thought about his future and that of his fellow tackles.
“We all want to continue our careers,” Babineaux said. “All we can do within our ability is to go out there and play every Sunday. Everything else will take care of itself at the end of the season. It’s not something that we’re worrying about right now. There will be a lot of time for that in the offseason. Whenever that moment comes, we’ll see how it turns out.”
Babineaux believes he has some years left.
“Even though my age says I’m 32, I still feel young out there on the field,” Babineaux said. “I feel like I still get after guys and can be disruptive at a high level.”
Over the past two seasons under defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, Babineaux has made a transition to defensive end when the Falcons play out of their 3-4 alignment on run downs.
“It wasn’t bad at all,” Babineaux said. “It was a little adjustment as far as being that far out from the quarterback. Other than that, everything is still the same. You still get the same blocks. I’m just a gap over. Once I got settled in, I felt comfortable. I can pretty much play anywhere on the line.”
Peters, 25, who was selected in the third round of the 2010 draft by the Falcons, has 43 tackles, five tackles for losses and 3.5 sacks this season.
“It’s business as usual really,” Peters said. “I would love to stay here. I do love it here. My family has gotten accustomed to being here. But it’s just business as usual, and I always just try to do my best.”
The future has been a topic of discussion among the three tackles.
“We understand how the business works,” Peters said. “We want what’s best for one another, and hopefully, in a perfect world, we can all stay.”
Peters wants to finish the season on a high note.
“We just have to keep grinding,” Peters said. “We are going to face a couple of teams that are playoff teams or they are on the cusp of being a playoff team. I would like to see us knock a couple of those teams out of the playoffs. That’s our focus right now, we’re playing for pride, and we had some fun last week. We are going to continue to try and have some fun.”
Jerry, 29, was selected in the first round of the 2009 draft before a serious knee injury his rookie season drastically altered his career path. He has 30 tackles, three tackles for losses, 3.5 sacks and one fumble recovery this season.
“Whatever happens, happens,” Jerry said. “You (don’t) have any control over that. Really, we are just playing it by ear to see what happens. There is nothing that you can do about it. That’s the people upstairs’ decision.
“I started here and would love to stay here.”
All three of the defensive linemen have been productive, and Smith seems to value their contributions.
“They have a very good understanding of what we are trying to do,” Smith said. “We’ve got to continue to win the line of scrimmage.”
About the Author
