The Atlanta Falcons have made sure their offensive line will only have one depth chart battle this training camp, re-signing LG Justin Blalock, with Jason La Canfora winning the race to report this one. Minutes later, the team itself confirmed the news.
Update: D. Orlando Ledbetter adds that it's a six-year deal, the longest the Falcons have given anybody this offseason.
Atlanta lost RG Harvey Dahl to the St. Louis Rams but was able to retain RT Tyson Clabo, so hanging onto Blalock became high priority over the weekend. Mike Smith said so himself, y'all.
To this point, the Falcons don't appear to have lost out on a player that they actually wanted to add. I'm sure they would've liked to have hung onto Dahl, but coming in few expected them to be able to keep all three free agent OL, and evidently the choices were Clabo and Blalock. The only major free agents left for the Falcons to re-sign: CB Brent Grimes and RB Jason Snelling. Grimes is all but a sure thing, while it wouldn't be surprising to see Snelling move along.
Blalock is entering his fifth year in the NFL, all of which have been spent starting for Atlanta.
Visit SB Nation’s 2011 NFL free agency hub for the latest news on all 32 teams. Head to The Falcoholic to discuss more Atlanta Falcons news and opinion.