The Falcons have re-signed 31-year old center Brett Romberg.  Romberg didn’t play at all for the Falcons last year.  He played in 9 games (0 starts) for the Falcons in 2009.  Romberg has now played in 42 games (18 starts) in his first 7 years in the NFL.  The Falcons were lucky that Romberg was still available this late in free agency.  He will be needed while McClure is out of action.

The Falcons have signed 28-year old safety James Sanders.  Sanders played in 15 games for the Patriots last year and he had 58 tackles, 6 passes defensed, 3 interceptions (1 returned for a TD), 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  He has now played in 84 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 301 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 19 passes defensed, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries and 8 interceptions (2 returned for TDs).  This was a good signing for the Falcons as Sanders has been a playmaker so far in his NFL career.

34-year old starting center Todd McClure is out indefinately due to arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.  McClure played in 16 games (all starts) for the Falcons last year.  He has played in 169 games (166 starts) in his first 12 years with the Falcons.  22-year old Joe Hawley will replace McClure in the starting lineup.  He played in 15 games (0 starts) as a rookie last year for the Falcons.  The Falcons need Hawley to step up, because McClure is likely to miss a few weeks of the regular season.

The Falcons have signed 34-year old TE Reggie Kelly.  Kelly played in 16 games (14 starts) for the Bengals last year and he caught 10 passes for 42 yards (4.2 avg).  He has now played in 168 games (147 starts) in his first 11 years in the NFL and he has caught 194 passes for 1,760 yards (9.1 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Kelly played for the Falcons in the first four years of his NFL career.  He played in 62 games (47 starts) in his four previous years with the Falcons and he caught 69 passes for 790 yards (11.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Kelly will be used as a run blocker way more than a pass catcher for the Falcons in 2011.

The Falcons have re-signed 27-year old RB Jason Snelling to a 1-year deal.  Snelling played in 14 games for the Falcons last year and he carried the ball 87 times for 324 yards (3.7 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 44 passes for 303 yards (6.9 avg) with 3 TD grabs last year.  Snelling has now played in 51 games (3 starts) in his first four years with the Falcons and he carried the ball 257 times for 1,042 yards (4.1 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  Snelling has also caught 82 passes for 651 yards (7.9 avg) with 4 TD grabs in his career.  Snelling will be the Falcons’ #2 RB behind Michael Turner this year.  It was a smart move for the Falcons to bring Snelling back.

The Falcons have re-signed 28-year old CB Brent Grimes to a 1-year deal.  Grimes played in all 16 games for the Falcons last year and he had 87 tackles, 5 interceptions, 23 passes defensed and 2 tackles for a loss.  Grimes has now played in 4 seasons for the Falcons and he has 199 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 12 interceptions, 42 passes defensed and 1 fumble recovery.  Grimes had by far his best year with the Falcons in 2010 and they are hoping he will repeat it in 2011.

The Falcons have re-signed 26-year old WR/PR/KR Eric Weems.  Weems played in all 16 games (4 starts) for the Falcons last year and he caught 6 passes for 61 yards (10.2 avg).  Weems’ worth to the team comes when he’s returning punts and kickoffs.  Weems returned 18 punts for 230 yards (12.8 avg) with 1 TD return and 40 kickoffs for 1,100 yards (27.5 avg) with 1 TD return.  Weems has now played in 39 games (4 starts) in his first four years with the Falcons and he has caught 13 passes for 115 yards (8.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He also has returned 45 punts for 500 yards (11.1 avg) with 1 TD return and 89 kickoffs for 2,333 yards (26.2 avg) with 1 TD return in his time with the Falcons.  This was a good move for the Falcons as Weems should give the offense frequent good starting field position in 2011.

The Falcons have signed 26-year old DE Ray Edwards to a 5-year, $30 million dollar deal.  Edwards played in 14 games for the Vikings last year and he had 37 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 8 sacks and he defensed 2 passes.  He has now played in 72 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 182 tackles, 23 tackles for a loss, 29.5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 11 passes defensed.  Edwards will give the Falcons a nice set of bookend DEs with John Abraham on the other side.  This was a great signing for the Falcons.

The Falcons have re-signed 29-year old OT Tyson Clabo to a 5-year, $25 million dollar contract. Clabo played in 16 games (all starts) for the Falcons last year.  He has now played in 69 games (all starts) in his first five years with the Falcons.  This was a good signing as it will keep QB Matt Ryan happy….and that’s important.

The Falcons have released 25-year old DE Jamaal Anderson.  Anderson played in all 16 games for the Falcons last year and he had 21 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble and he defensed 1 pass.  Anderson played in 60 games in his four years with the Falcons and he had 105 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and he defensed 9 passes.  Anderson never lived up to his draft status with the Falcons, so they decided to cut their losses.  They won’t miss him at all moving forward.