The Falcons have signed 23-year old RB Dimitri Nance to a reserve/future contract.  Nance didn’t play at all in the NFL in 2011.  In 2010, Nance played in 12 games for the Packers in which he carried the ball 36 times for 95 yards (2.6 ypc).  He also caught 3 passes for 30 yards (10.0 avg) in 2010 for the Packers.  Nance is a power runner, so it will be interesting to see if he fits into what the Falcons want to do at RB moving forward.

The Atlanta Falcons will be without 28-year old CB Brent Grimes for the next few weeks due to minor knee surgery.  He has played in 11 games for the Falcons so far this year and he has 42 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception and 12 passes defensed.  Grimes has now played in 57 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 241 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 54 passes defensed and 13 interceptions.  The Falcons are going to miss Grimes a little bit as he continues to improve as a football player.

The Falcons have signed 26-year old fullback Mike Cox.  Cox played in 7 games for the Chiefs last year and he caught 4 passes for 27 yards (6.8 avg).  He has now played in 39 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 4 times for 3 yards (0.8 ypc).  Cox also caught 22 passes for 125 yards (5.7 avg) so far in his career.  Cox was with the Falcons in training camp, so he will have to edge to start in place of Ovie Mughelli, who is done for the season.

The Falcons have signed 32-year old G/T Kirk Chambers.  Chambers has played in 67 games (14 starts) in his first six years in the NFL.  He should be able to help the Falcons out due to his versatility.  Chambers will replace 24-year old OG Mike Johnson, who has been placed on Injured Reserve (ending his season) due to an undisclosed injury.  Johnson played in 2 games (0 starts) in 2011, after not getting into any games as a rookie in 2010.  The Falcons won’t miss Johnson too much going forward.

The Falcons have signed 28-year old CB Kelvin Hayden.  Hayden played in 11 games for the Colts last year and he had 61 tackles, 8 passes defensed, 2 interceptions (both returned for TDs), 1 forced fumble and 4 tackles for a loss.  Hayden has now played in 77 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 298 tackles, 9 interceptions (3 returned for TDs), 37 passes defensed, 7 tackles for a loss, 4 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.  The Falcons got another solid player by simply letting the free agent market play out.  This was a great move for the Falcons.

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.

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 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 signed 24-year old running back Gartrell Johnson.  Johnson played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Giants last season and he carried the ball 13 times for 43 yards (3.3 ypc).  He also returned 1 kickoff for 15 yards last year.  Gartrell Johnson will replace Jerious Norwood as the Falcons’ #3 RB.