The Falcons have signed 33-year old center Jeremy Newberry to a 1-year deal.  The 6′5″, 315 pound Newberry played in all 16 games (3 starts) for the Chargers last season.  He has now played in 120 games (107 starts) in his 11-year NFL career which is winding down.  Still, Newberry should provide nice depth on the interior of the offensive line for the Falcons this season and the price was right.

2nd year man Matt Ryan will try to build on his outstanding rookie season in 2009.  The Falcons got Ryan a new toy in TE Tony Gonzalez which should really help loosen up the defense over the middle of the field.  Ryan has a good arm and he’s smart beyond his years.  Look for improvement this season from Ryan will him possibly making the Pro Bowl.  Chris Redman will be the #2 QB for the Falcons again in 2009.  Redman doesn’t have a great arm but he can still make all the throws needed to succeed.  He’s been a good mentor to Ryan and he would probably be at least a league average QB forced onto the field due to injury.  D.J. Shockley comes to camp as the #3 QB for the Falcons but he will have to fight undrafted rookie John Parker Wilson for his job.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON:  A-

The Atlanta Falcons have released 28-year old QB Michael Vick.  Vick last played during the 2006 season for the Falcons as he has spent the last two football seasons in the pokey for killing dogs.  Vick played in 74 games in his six years in Atlanta and he completed 930 of 1,730 passes (53.8%) for 11,505 yards with 71 TD passes and 52 interceptions (75.7 QB Rating).  Vick has never topped 3,000 yards passing in a season to date in his career.  Vick’s best asset was his feet.  He carried the ball 529 times for 3,859 yards (7.3 ypc) with 21 TD runs for the Falcons.  With the emergence of Matt Ryan last season it just made no sense to keep Vick around.  The Falcons tried hard to trade him on Draft Day wanting nothing more than a 7th round pick but no team was willing to make that offer.  All I can say is “Good Riddance”!

The Falcons have signed 30-year old RB Verron Haynes to a 1-year deal.  Haynes did not play in the NFL last season.  He has played in 61 games in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 174 times for 738 yards (4.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Haynes has also caught 58 passes for 429 yards (7.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his career.  Haynes will have a hard time making the Falcons’ opening day roster in 2009.

The Falcons have signed undrafted rookie QB John Parker Wilson.  Wilson played in 45 games (40 starts) in his career at Alabama and he completed 669 of 1,171 passes (57.1%) for 7,924 yards with 47 TD passes and 30 interceptions.  Wilson will battle D.J. Shockley for the #3 QB job in Training Camp.  He has a nice little upside as he was the #4 rated prospect at the QB position according to Pro Football Weekly’s NFL Draft Preview.