Horn allowed to seek trade

According to the AJC's Steve Wyche, Falcons receiver Joe Horn and his agent have been given clearance to gauge interest of other NFL teams in a prospective trade. Horn told the Wyche in May that he wanted to be traded by the Falcons mainly due to decreased playing time. However per Wyche, Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff has indicated that there has been no activity on the trade front involving Horn. Per Wyche, Horn's agent has talked to the Dallas Cowboys about a deal, but there has been no discussions between the Cowboys and Falcons. Earlier this week, reports surfaced that the Cowboys were interested in acquiring Horn. However on Friday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones denied interest.

Horn to Cowboys?

NFL.com's Adam Schefter reports that the Dallas Cowboys perhaps will have interest in acquiring Falcons wide receiver Joe Horn to shore up their wide receiver depth. The Cowboys are currently embroiled in a dispute with disgruntled reserve receiver Terry Glenn over an injury waiver. Horn has been linked to possibly being a candidate to be released by the Falcons since the spring, and even reportedly requested a trade from the team in May.

Horn's value to the Falcons was lessened when the team drafted Louisville receiver Harry Douglas in the third round this past April. Horn is not expected to start this season, losing his job to second-year player Laurent Robinson. Horn caught 27 passes in 12 games last season for the Falcons, but only averaged 9 yards per catch and scored 1 touchdown, less production than expected when the team signed him to a four-year $19 million contract in March 2007. As part of that deal, Horn's 2008 base salary of $2.5 million is fully guaranteed.

So far, the Falcons have indicated that they have no plans on parting ways with Horn. It remains to be seen if that will be the case as the summer progresses.

UPDATE: ESPN's Ed Werder cites a team source that confirms Schefter's report that the Cowboys have initiated internal discussion about acquiring Horn. However, Dallas Morning News columnist Brian Davis reports that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones denied interest in Horn to ESPN during an Arena Football game on Friday night.

Biermann signs

The Falcons signed fifth round pick Kroy Biermann to a four-year contract. Biermann at only 6'3" 246 pounds is expected to play defensive end for the Falcons. He won the Buck Buchanan award for the top defensive player in the FCS (formerly Division I-AA) with 70 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, and 5 forced fumbles. For his career at Montana, Bierman had 56 tackles for loss, 33 sacks, 9 forced fumbles, and 7 fumble recoveries.

Biermann's signing leaves the team with only three of its eleven 2008 draft picks unsigned: first round offensive tackle Sam Baker, second round linebacker Curtis Lofton, and fifth round linebacker Robert James.

Falcons cut Datish

The Falcons cut 2007 sixth round pick center Doug Datish on Monday afternoon. Datish is the first of any of the 2007 draft class to be released from the team. Datish missed all of last season due to a wrist injury he suffered early in training camp.

He was a three-year starter at Ohio State, manning three different positions: left guard, left tackle, and center. He was the starting center for the Buckeye team that lost to the Florida Gators in the National Championship Game in January 2007.

Falcons sign Douglas and veteran safety

The Falcons signed third round pick wide receiver Harry Douglas on Friday as well as free agent safety Deke Cooper. Douglas is the seventh rookie draft pick to sign with the team.

Douglas was a highly productive player at Louisville. He caught a total of 173 passes for 2,924 yards and 15 touchdowns while there as a two-year starter. He was most productive as a senior, catching 71 passes for 1,159 yards (16.3 avg) and 7 scores. He is expected to compete for playing time as the team's No. 3 or No. 4 wide receiver this season.

Cooper started 15 games for the Carolina Panthers last season at free safety. He finished with 59 tackles and 3 interceptions. The six-year veteran spent years with the 49ers and Jaguars before joining the Panthers last year. The Falcons released safety Jimmy Williams earlier this week, and Cooper's signing indicates that the team is still unsure about its young and unproven safety depth.

The team also released offensive linemen Mike Butterworth and Kurt Quarterman, defensive end Derrick Jones, and safety Jamal Lewis. Both Butterworth and Lewis were undrafted rookies the team signed this off-season. Quarterman and Jones spent last year with the team on both the practice squad and briefly on the active roster.

Falcons get time off before camp

Head coach Mike Smith decided to forgo the three-day mini-camp next week and gave the Falcons team time off until they resume workouts on July 26 for training camp. Players will report on July 25.

Brooking will be a radio man

Not surprisingly, the AJC reports that linebacker Keith Brooking will be a recipient of one of the radio headsets inside helmets, which have been newly implemented this season to allow defensive coaches to radio in calls and signals to defensive players. Previously, this technology had been used offensively with quarterbacks, but the league has decided to do the same for defense.

Teams will have two devices due to defensive substitutions, but only one player will be allowed to use it at a time. Brooking will be the primary person. No word on who the alternative option would be when Brooking is out of the game.

Falcons sign rookie RB Brown

The Falcons announced the signing of yet another draft pick on Wednesday, signing sixth round pick running back Thomas Brown out of Georgia. Brown is the team's sixth draft pick to sign his contract. Despite an injury-marred career at Georgia, Brown finished his career ranked 5th all-time in the school's record books with 2,646 career rushing yards. He also scored 26 total touchdowns and passed for one more. He is expected to compete for playing time as the team's third running back with 2007 seventh round pick Jason Snelling.

Falcons sign Fontenot

The Falcons announced the signing of seventh round cornerback Wilrey Fontenot to a contract. He is the fifth of the Falcons eleven draft picks to sign. Fontenot was the first of the team's two seventh round picks, the second being tight end Keith Zinger, who also signed. Fontenot was overshadowed for much of his career at Arizona by fellow starter Antoine Cason, a first round pick by the San Diego Chargers this past year. But Fontenot was a four-year starter that finished his Wildcat career with 5 interceptions and 25 pass breakups. He is expected to compete with players such as David Irons for a reserve role with the team.

No terms of Fontenot's deal were released, but it's expected to be a four-year deal.

Falcons cut Williams

The Falcons top pick from the 2006 draft was cut today. Safety Jimmy Williams was released in what head coach Mike Smith termed a "football decision" per the AJC. Williams was selected by the Falcons in the second round of the 2006 draft, their top pick, since their first round pick was sent to the New York Jets in exchange for defensive end John Abraham.

Williams' contribution to the team since his selection has been disappointingly little. He started a total of 7 games in two seasons, recording 35 tackles and 1 interception in that span. A reason for his disappointing stint in Atlanta was due to the fact that he changed positions after his rookie season, moving from cornerback to safety. But another was that he was in the doghouse of both Falcon coaches: Jim Mora and Bobby Petrino, at certain points in those two years for questionable effort. And it was the same for Smith when he showed up at April mini-camps at 236 pounds, after being listed at 212 last season. Williams also missed several days of the mini-camp for unspecified reasons.

Per the Daily Press, Williams had this to say in light of his release:

"I knew it could get to this point, but I wasn't sure it would. They've been upset with my weight, but I didn't think the weight thing was a big issue. I thought they were hiding behind that. Other than that, there weren't any real disputes between me and the Falcons...I never felt like I had a fair shot to show what I can do. But I'm not upset with anybody."

Stone gets DUI

The AJC reports that Falcons reserve safety Daren Stone was arrested in downtown Atlanta on early Sunday morning and charged with driving under the influence. He was released Sunday afternoon on bond. He will meet with team officials today per a Buffalo News report.

Stone was sixth round pick with the Falcons last season out of Maine. He was limited to mostly special teams work, finishing the season with 2 tackles on defense and 8 on special teams.

Kinoshita joins practice squad

ESPN reports that wide receiver Noriaki Kinoshita, a mini-celebrity at last summer's Falcons training camp, has been assigned to the team's practice squad as part of the NFL's International Player Development program. Kinoshita was among 16 players from 7 different countries that were selected to join various NFL practice squads. Initially over 100 players competed in camps held in Europe and Asia over the past year for the opportunity. The 16 players will be assigned to to all the teams in the AFC North, AFC West, NFC South, and NFC West.

Kinoshita had quite a following from the Japanese press last summer with the Falcons. He had played three previous springs in NFL Europe, catching a total of 37 passes in that span. As part of the league's international practice squad program, he will be eligible to compete for the Falcons in preseason games, but will not be so during the regular season.

No favorites on OL for Boudreau

Falcons new offensive line coach is virtually starting from scratch with the team's offensive line. Much of the off-season activities involving the line have been spent shuffling different players to different positions. The only player so far that has not been shuffled around is incumbent starting center Todd McClure, who's job security has been considered secure by AJC writer Steve Wyche.

"I have no pre-conceived notions. Right now guys are on a clean slate. Whether you were the coach's favorite before. Whether you weren't the coach's favorite. Whether you were on the practice squad I don't really care. My favorite guys are the guys who do everything right, do it on time and do it physically." -- Paul Boudreau

Right now, practice squad player Harvey Dahl has been working on the first time at right guard, ahead of Kynan Forney who has held that position since the middle of the 2001 season. Boudreau praises both Dahl and right tackle Tyson Clabo as being two of the team's nastiest players. Clabo is considered to be ahead at right tackle, but both his and Dahl's starting status is not fixed. Right tackle Todd Weiner is coming off a tough knee injury, but is expected to be 100% by the start of training camp. He could re-assume the starting spot at that position if that occurs. Clabo started 11 games last year in place for Weiner at right tackle.

Boudreau also praised rookie left tackle Sam Baker, who looks like he will have a good chance to hold the starting position there when the season starts.

More rookies could sign soon

According to the Sports Xchange team report, the Falcons are close to signing two more draft picks: second round linebacker Curtis Lofton and sixth round running back Thomas Brown. The Falcons already have signed four of their draft picks, more than other teams except the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins.

The AJC reports that with two fellow third rounders signed, wide receiver Harry Douglas could also be close to signing as well.

The Falcons have eleven total draft picks.

Falcons sign Jackson and DeCoud

The team announced on Tuesday that they had agreed to terms with two more draft picks. Cornerback Chevis Jackson and safety Thomas DeCoud, both third round picks, agreed to four-year contracts with the Falcons. To make room for both players on the roster, the team also released reserve tight end George Cooper.

Both Jackson and DeCoud were added in the draft to upgrade a weak secondary. Jackson is expected to eventually compete for the team's nickel cornerback position and then eventually a starting position. He was a three-year starter at LSU and over his career recorded 8 interceptions and 36 pass deflections. He earned 1st team All-SEC honors this past year as one of the leaders in the national championship LSU secondary.

The Falcons have stated they liked DeCoud's versatility and believe he can potentially play either safety position. He played primarily free safety at California, where he was only the primary starter for one season. But in that lone season as a senior starter, he recorded 116 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception, and 2 forced fumbles.

Cooper was originally an undrafted rookie with the Detroit Lions last year, but was cut by the Lions in June. He landed with the Falcons and spent the entire regular season on the team's practice squad. He is primarily known for his blocking skills, but the addition of draft pick Keith Zinger made him a bit expendable.

The Falcons now have four of their eleven 2008 draft picks under contract.

Zinger signs a four-year deal

The Falcons announced that seventh round pick Keith Zinger signed a four-year contract on Saturday evening. Zinger was the final of the Falcons eleven draft picks this past April, and is the second one to sign a deal. The first was top pick Matt Ryan about three weeks ago.

Zinger was attractive to the Falcons due to his blocking ability and will be competing for playing time this summer as a reserve tight end.