The Falcons have released Ike Reese and Edgerton Hartwell.  Hartwell was a major free agent bust for the Falcons in his two years in Atlanta.  He played in only 13 games and he made 63 tackles, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and a forced fumble.  Last season Hartwell only played in 8 games and he made 41 tackles, 1 sack and forced 1 fumble.  Ike Reese played in all 16 games last season and he only made 13 tackles.  Coach Petrino wanted to get rid of the dead weight on his roster and he got a good start today with these moves.

The Falcons have signed fullback Ovie Mughelli and linebacker Marcus Wilkins.  Mughelli received a 6 year, $18 million dollar contract from the Falcons.  He played in 16 games last season for the Baltimore Ravens (7 starts) and he carried the football 12 times for 50 yards (4.2 ypc).  He also caught 21 passes for 182 yards (8.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Mughelli finished the season with a rush as he caught 20 of his receptions after week 10 of the season.  He also is a great lead blocker in the running game.

Marcus Wilkins played in 16 games last season and he made 15 tackles.  Over his career, Wilkins has played in 59 games and he has made 66 tackles, forced 3 fumbles and recovered 3 fumbles.  Wilkins is a really good special teams player and back up linebacker.