To the Falcons fans who were crying, hoping, pleading for Thomas Dimitroff to sign a defensive end: your wish has now been granted. After cutting DE Jamaal Anderson and longtime Falcons WR Michael Jenkins earlier this morning, the Falcons have reportedly signed Ray Edwards to a five-year deal worth $30M, $11M guaranteed. This is fantastic news.
While I hate to see Jenkins go, the team needed to cut both in order to free up cap space and make the Edwards signing possible. What's more, the Falcons were able to get Edwards for a bargain price. Charles Johnson was guaranteed $30M, and that's absolute the maximum the Falcons are paying Edwards.
The team will now turn its collective attention to keeping one of Justin Blalock/Harvey Dahl. However, beyond that there is really only one area the team still could address via free agency: backup defensive back.
Behind Robinson and Grimes, the only two cornerbacks with any real experience are Chris Owens and Dominique Franks. The Falcons will likely at least kick the tires on a couple of veteran CBs available as potential replacements for Brian Williams, who was not re-signed.
The same goes for safety, with Schillinger and Rafael Bush as the primary backups. The Falcons will likely look at bringing in a veteran with more experience to fill the void left by Erik Coleman's departure.
One such Falcons target could be Redskins CB Phillip Buchanon. With the talent available thinning, Buchanon would be a good choice because he has experience starting, in fact he started five games in 2010, and could fill in for an injured starter if needed. He also had a surprising 18 passes defended to go with his four defensive takeaways last season.
Another potential small-time signing could be former Falcon Lawyer Milloy. Milloy was a great locker room guy during his tenure in Atlanta, and his veteran experience would definitely be appreciated. He also pretty much won't be back in Seattle, tweeting to his presumed replacement "make me proud" earlier today. I would love to see Milloy back in a Falcons uniform.