He’s 36, five years removed from his last Pro Bowl and just signed on with his third different team in three seasons. And the Falcons hope new defensive end Dwight Freeney will breathe some life into their dormant pass rush.
The team’s struggle to get after opposing quarterbacks has been a long-time problem. The franchise has not had two double-digit sackers since 2007 when Patrick Kerney (14.5 sacks) and John Abraham (10) turned the trick.
The Falcons had just 19 sacks last season, which ranked last in the NFL. They have finished 30th, 31st and 32nd in sacks over the past three seasons.
Falcons coach Dan Quinn plans to unleash Freeney.
“For us, the role that we see for him and what I explained to him, is that he’s going to be one of our nickel rushers,” Quinn said. “That’s the role that we’ll feature him in.”
The Falcons met with Freeney in June and continued to communicate over the offseason. He also met with the Cincinnati Bengals.
“We kept up after we got together and that relationship grew as we got a chance to communicate more and more,” Quinn said. “I think it’s important for us to share the vision of what we’d like a player to do and not just for Dwight, but for all of the guys here. … So, I wanted to make sure that he was really clear on that as well.”
Freeney, who’s set to sign a one-year incentive-laden $4 million deal, returned to Indianapolis but will join the Falcons on Thursday.
“We’ll get him acclimated into the system starting really on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and into next week,” Quinn said.
Freeney was not signed solely to tutor some of the young players, including linebacker/defensive end Vic Beasley.
“That certainly wasn’t the case, to bring him to mentor. But what I can tell you is that anytime a guy has had really good success, there are things to gain from that,” Quinn said. “Some of that is coming from the younger players asking questions, too.”
Beasley and others can observe how Freeney prepares and practices.
“We didn’t bring him here to coach,” Quinn said. “We brought him here to rush.”
Beasley, who was the eighth player selected in the 2015 NFL draft, had four sacks as rookie. He is being moved to strongside linebacker in the base defense. He’s rushed from left defensive end while Adrian Clayborn played right defensive end in the nickel.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Beasley said. “He’s a great pass rusher. He’s been playing in the league for quite a number of years. It will be great for me to be able to learn from him.”
An 11-year veteran, Freeney has 119.5 career sacks, which ranks third among active players behind Green Bay’s Julius Peppers and Denver’s DeMarcus Ware. Beasley says he won’t be shy about asking questions.
“Who better to ask than him?” Beasley said. “He’s had great success on the field. I couldn’t ask for a better person to be able to work with.”
Clayborn also sees the move as a plus.
“I think bringing in another pass rusher like him is only going to help us,” Clayborn said. “He’s going to show us where we’ve been missing out and how to get better. He’s going to do (his thing). It’s going to be good.”
Just don’t expect Clayborn to work on Freeney’s trademark spin move.
“I don’t think I can pull it off, so I’m going to leave that to him,” Clayborn said.
Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews is looking forward to working against Freeney in practice.
“I’m happy he’s on our team,” Matthews said. “I think it’s going to be really good work for me. I’m going to learn a lot from it.
“His spin move is legendary and he’s obviously proved that he’s a very good player over the course of his career. I’m excited to go against him.”
About the Author
