The Falcons have built their roster mostly through the draft and free agency and are set to remain idle as the NFL trading deadline passes at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
The only player on the roster acquired via trade is left guard Andy Levitre. The Falcons sent a sixth-round draft pick to the Titans for the offensive lineman before the outset of the 2014 season.
“I remember last year when I was getting the call that I was being traded, I had about 30 minutes to go home and pack my bags,” Levitre said. “Since, I was in Nashville, it was like a three-and-half hour drive, so I just drove down. It was a pretty quick turnaround.”
The Falcons were in need of an interior offensive lineman who fit their outside-zone blocking scheme. Levitre had been a big free-agent signee by the Titans, but had fallen out of favor.
“I had to come in here and learn the offense, especially in the regular season, in order to contribute, you have to pick up on the offense,” said Levitre, who started all 16 games last season. “There is a lot of learning in a small amount of time.”
Levitre lived in a hotel for about a month, while Kevin Winston, the Falcons’ senior director of player affairs helped him find a house and get his personal matters settled.
“You have to deal with those things outside of football on your own time,” Levitre said. “We were trying to find a place to live. There were a lot of moving parts, but you just take it day-by-day and see what you can get done day-by-day.”
While the Falcons remain idle near the trading deadline, general manager Thomas Dimitroff does most of his trading around the draft. He’s made a trade in each of the drafts since 2008.
