FLOWERY BRANCH – The center position for the Falcons has been problematic since Todd McClure was forced into retirement to clear a spot for Peter Konz after the 2012 season.
After the Konz experiment didn’t work, Joe Hawley took over and stabilized things. When Hawley went down in 2014, James Stone took over.
During the 2015 training camp, Mike Person beat out Stone and Hawley to land the job this season, despite having never started a game in the NFL.
Now, it appears the Falcons may be ready to give Gino Gradkowski a shot.
“We’re anxious to see what Gino has as well,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “He’s got probably the most experience playing center, so that’s certainly an option for us too.”
Gradkowski was a fourth round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2012. He started 16 games for the Ravens in 2013.
He played 1,181 snaps and gave up three sacks, quarterback seven hits and 26 hurries. He was the 30th rated center of 30 players, who played more than 50 percent of their team’s snaps in 2013, according to profootballfocus.com.
Gradkowski fell out of favor in Baltimore and was traded to Denver, where he was beaten out by rookie Matt Paradis.
The Falcons claimed Gradkowski off waivers on Sept. 7.
Person, who played at Montana State, was drafted in the seventh-round (239th overall) by San Francisco 49ers in the 2011 NFL draft. He has spent time with the 49ers, Indianapolis Colts, and Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams. He has played in 17 games in his career, including all 16 games last season.
He started seven of the Falcons first eight games this season. His missed the Saints game with an ankle injury.
Person and Stone have had errant center snaps that helped to bogged down the offense. Person’s wayward snap led to a turnover in the Falcons’ 23-20 loss to Tampa Bay.
“There is no excuse for it,” Person said. “I’ll be the first one to tell you that. It’s one of those things where I just need to calm down and take care of that and let this team be able to operate.”
Person has some knowledge about the 49ers from his time with the team and from playing in the NFC West with Seattle and St. Louis.
“It’s your classic San Francisco defense,” Person said. “They are going to be physical. They are big guys…. everything starts up front with those guys. It will be a challenging game.”
