Veteran safety Charles Godfrey, who was signed over the bye week, plans to be ready to play against Tampa Bay if needed.
“Anything is possible,” Godfrey said on Monday. “I’m not here to not be ready. I’m going to do whatever I can to be ready.”
Godfrey, 28, played seven seasons with the Panthers and started 75 of 82 games. He has 11 career interceptions. Godfrey was released by the Panthers on Oct. 21.
Godfrey, 5-foot-11, 210 pounds, was originally selected by the Panthers in the third-round (67th overall) of the NFL draft out of Iowa in 2008.
The Falcons are giving up 280.8 yards passing per game, which ranks 29th in the league. They gave up a 74-yard pass play against Chicago and a 59-yard bomb against Detroit that helped ignite the Lions’ rally from a 21-point halftime deficit to a 22-21 victory.
“I just want to learn everything so that I can get out there and play fast,” Godfrey said. “I want to do whatever I can do to help us win and get back on the right track. I will do whatever I can to help.”
Godfrey spent the bye week learning the Falcons’ playbook.
“The good thing is that I got the playbook early and I was able to go home and look at that,” Godfrey said. “This is not like my first playbook, so I’ve had time to kind of look at stuff. But it’s different when you actually have to do it and actually have to make calls. That was some of the stuff that I had to do over the bye week.”
Godfrey stayed in shape by working out at Charlotte area high school.
“I didn’t know what team would call me, but the Falcons just happen to be the team that called me,” Godfrey said. “They wanted me to come in for a workout. I came in and worked out. I actually signed that day.”
Godfrey didn’t want to look too far in the future. The Falcons play at the Panthers on Nov. 16.
“I’ve been in this league for a while, so I know it’s one week at a time,” Godfrey said. “We’ll cross that bridge whenever we get there. Right now, the focus is on Tampa Bay.”
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