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.

The Falcons have signed 27-year old safety Matt Giordano.  Giordano played in 5 games with the Packers last season in which he made 2 tackles.  Giordano has now played in 60 games in his NFL career in which he has made 82 tackles, defensed 8 passes and he has 3 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  Giordano will help with the depth at safety for the Falcons this season and he will help out on special teams too.

The Falcons have signed 27-year old cornerback Dunta Robinson to a 6-year deal.  Robinson played in all 16 games for the Texans last season and he made 64 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, forced 1 fumble and he defensed 9 passes.  Robinson has now played in 84 games in his NFL career in which he has made 394 tackles, defensed 63 passes, forced 6 fumbles, has 4 sacks and he has intercepted 13 passes (one he returned for a TD).  Robinson will be huge upgrade for the Falcons in 2010 and beyond as their secondary was pretty darn weak in 2009.

The Falcons have signed 24-year old kicker Steven Hauschka.  Hauschka played in 9 games for the Falcons earlier this season and he made 9 of 13 field goals (69.2%) and 27 of 28 extra points good for 54 points.  The Falcons signed Hauschka because Matt Bryant might not be ready to go due to injury tomorrow against his old team, the Buccaneers.

The Falcons have signed 33-year old long snapper Joe Zelenka to a 1-year deal.  Zelenka played in all 16 games for the Jaguars in 2008.  He has now played in 157 games in his 10-year NFL career making a pretty solid living out of snapping the football on kicks and punts.  This is likely a nice little upgrade for the Falcons.

The Falcons have signed 34-year old kicker Matt Bryant to a 1-year deal.  Bryant played in all 16 games for the Bucs last season and he made 32 of 38 field goals (84.2%) and 35 of 36 extra points which was good for 131 points.  Bryant has now played in 94 games in his NFL career and he has made 138 of 168 field goals (82.1%) and 181 of 185 extra points for 595 points.  This was a good signing for the Falcons as Bryant would have been on a team a while ago if he weren’t kicking for the Orlando Tuskers of the UFL this season.