FLOWERY BRANCH — After a day of manipulating their practice schedule, the Falcons were finally able to get 10 newly signed players on the field for a full padded session Thursday.
NFL players ratified the collective bargaining agreement officially starting the new business year. The approval came about an hour after the league had hoped to open business at 4:01 p.m.
Once the CBA was ratified, starting the 10-year labor agreement, newly signed players were able to practice. They had been limited to attending meetings and watching from the sidelines once they agreed to deals.
“I was just trying to get my feet back underneath me, and it’s been a while for me,” said offensive tackle Tyson Clabo, who signed a five-year, $25 million deal. “I was just trying to get back in the groove. I felt good at times and at other times I felt pretty awkward. It should all come together, hopefully in a couple of days.”
The Falcons had scheduled a padded practice for Thursday morning. However the team moved its walk-through session to the morning on the advice of the NFL, according to coach Mike Smith. The time of the afternoon practice was then delayed 30 minutes, until 5:20 p.m. — about 20 minutes after news of the ratification.
“We are going to ease these guys in,” Smith said. “They are 12 sessions behind. We are going to bring these guys along slowly and gauge where they are physically.”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith will sign the league’s new CBA on Friday on the front steps of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
In addition to Clabo, the Falcons also got offensive guard Justin Blalock, place-kicker Matt Bryant, defensive end Ray Edwards, linebacker Stephen Nicholas, linebacker Mike Peterson, quarterback John Parker Wilson, defensive tackle Vance Walker and wide receiver Eric Weems on the field.
In addition, cornerback Brent Grimes signed his one-year tender as a restricted free agent and joined his teammates. “It was tough,” Grimes said of not being with the team. “I was just waiting for the fourth [of August]. That was the day I knew I could practice.”
Grimes, who will earn $2.61 million after signing the tender around 2 p.m. Thursday, could have waited until Aug. 20 to see if another team offered a contract. Grimes said he never considered testing the market.
“No, I always wanted to be here,” he said.
Of all the players the Falcons got back Thursday, only Edwards is new to the team. He signed a five-year, $30 million deal ($11 million guaranteed) as a free agent from the Vikings. He was held out of most of the action while he gets acclimated to the new system.
“They eased me in,” Edwards said. “We are going to take in one day at a time. The scheme is very different. We ran the Tampa 2 [in Minnesota], which is very vanilla. This is a little bit more [to learn]. It’s going to take a little time.”
Edwards said he will need to get accustomed to lining up on the right side as the Falcons cross-train their players. “[Defensive end] Jared [Allen] didn’t like to change too much in Minnesota,” Edwards said.
Smith said the hardest thing for Edwards will be to learn the terminology of the Falcons’ defense. “Ray is very smart, and we’ve had an opportunity to work with him in meeting rooms the last few days,” Smith said. “He shows that he’s going to be able to pick it up.”
Even for the veteran Falcons, there are still things to learn. The coaches tinkered with the system during the 132-day lockout.
“It was a good time to get out there and cut up with the guys a little bit,” said Blalock, who signed a six-year, $38 million contract. “There is always going to be little bit of rust the first day back. There are some new wrinkles and nuances that have been added. Nothing too major.
“I wanted to be in the meetings because you get to see things schematically. It’s just a matter of application when you get out here. It’s also good to take mental reps with some of the younger guys.”
The Falcons still would like to re-sign running back Jason Snelling, an unrestricted free agent.
Staff writer D. Orlando Ledbetter contributed to this article.
