Happy New Year!
Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff went with sound football moves as he secured five players for the trenches, released free safety Thomas DeCoud and officially parted ways with tight end Tony Gonzalez on Tuesday.
The Falcons signed offensive guard Jon Asamoah, defensive end Tyson Jackson and mammoth nose tackle Paul Soliai in free agency, on the first day of the NFL’s new business year.
“We are happy to add the three players,” Dimitroff said. “They are good football players and solid in many ways. (They) are going to add to our toughness, size and grittiness of the team.”
The Falcons also signed defensive tackle/end Jonathan Babineaux and center/guard Joe Hawley to contract extensions. Both were set to become free agents.
“We believe they are important parts for our team and (will help our) continued efforts to bring us back to where we need to be as a football team,” Dimitroff said.
In addition to releasing DeCoud and Gonzalez, the Falcons allowed former first-round pick Peria Jerry to become an unrestricted free agent along with tight end Chase Coffman, offensive tackle Sean Locklear, offensive tackle Jeremy Trueblood, cornerback Dominique Franks and linebacker Omar Gaither.
The Falcons, who elected not to use the franchise or transition tag this offseason, previously signed offensive lineman Mike Johnson and defensive tackle Corey Peters to one-year extensions.
Asamoah, Jackson and Soliai all agreed to five-year contracts.
“Jon took less to go to Atlanta, flat out,” said Joe Panos, Asamoah’s agent. “The reasons are because No. 1, he knows they are going to win. The stability of the organization and the guy he’s blocking for, Matt Ryan, the coaching staff and (offensive line coach) Mike Tice. Those are the big reasons why he left money on the table to play in Atlanta. I think it says a lot about his character and what kind of man that he is.”
Jackson’s deal is worth $25 million, and Soliai’s is worth $33 million with $14 million guaranteed, $11 million due in the first year. Soliai, 6-foot-4, 345 pounds, received a $7 million signing bonus, $2 million roster bonus, $2 million guaranteed base salary in 2014, $3 million guaranteed base in 2015, and there are $1 million in escalators for making the Pro Bowl.
Asamoah, who turns 26 in July, played at Illinois and started 41 of 59 games with the Chiefs.
Jackson, 6-4, 296, originally was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round (third overall) of the 2009 NFL draft out of LSU. He has appeared in 74 games with 55 starts and tallied 190 tackles (138 solo), nine sacks, 12 passes defensed and 21 quarterback pressures in five seasons.
Asamoah and Jackson were selected by former Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who’s the Falcons’ assistant general manager.
Soliai played under Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan for two seasons in Miami (2010-11) when the Dolphins had one of the top defenses in the NFL. In 2011, Soliai earned his first career Pro Bowl selection as part of a unit that ranked third against the run, allowing 95.6 yards per game and 3.7 yards per carry.
The Falcons will continue to shift between the 4-3 and 3-4 defensive alignments, as they have for the past two seasons.
“As coach (Mike) Smith has mentioned, this is going to be a combination of both 3-4 and 4-3,” Dimitroff said. “We’ll continue to be creative with our defenses. Mike Nolan is very adept at switching up defenses. The fact that we were able to acquire two guys that are strong in a 3-4 is important, but we also feel they are very capable in contributing as well in a 4-3. Versatility abounds with the two individuals that we acquired.”
DeCoud was a year removed from going to the Pro Bowl as an alternate.
The team was in need of Gonzalez’s salary-cap space. The release of DeCoud and Gonzalez cleared $10 million off the team’s salary cap.
If Gonzalez decides to come out of retirement, he would be a free agent and eligible to sign with any team.
The Falcons still have holes at free safety and tight end, but have no immediate plays for those positions or to sign former Georgia standout Champ Bailey.
“Right now we are continuing to assess what is out there on the market right now,” Dimitroff said. “We have not made any decisions in the secondary at this point. I believe that Champ has the ability to continue to play in this league. It will be interesting to see where he signs.”
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