Quarterback is open competition

The AJC's Steve Wyche cites Falcons head coach Mike Smith as indicating that the team's starting quarterback position is up for grabs.

"We want them all to compete as if they'll be starters...It's going to be an open competition."

-- Mike Smith

From most indications, Chris Redman is the incumbent and enters camp atop the depth chart, but all four passers the team has in camp will have the opportunity to win the job. Redman finished last season strongly with four starts, passing for 1079 yards, 10 touchdowns, and a 90.4 passer rating. But the team drafted Matt Ryan with the third overall pick this past April, and he's definitely slated to be the quarterback of the future. But Ryan will have the opportunity to be the quarterback of today as well if he performs well in camp. Also on the roster are Joey Harrington who started 10 games last year and D.J. Shockley who was a seventh round pick two years ago.

Harrington re-signed

The Falcons re-signed quarterback Joey Harrington today. According to the AJC, he signed a two-year contract worth just under $4 million. NFL.com reports that it is a one-year contract worth $1 million. Harrington was released last week for salary cap purposes, and his new contract will relieve the Falcons of some of the cap burden.

UPDATE: The NFL Players Association website confirms that Harrington signed a one-year contract with a 2008 base salary of $700,000.

Harrington cut loose

The Falcons released quarterback Joey Harrington today. Last month, the Falcons also released Byron Leftwich. Harrington was signed by the Falcons last spring to replace Matt Schaub as the backup to Michael Vick. But due to Vick's legal issues, was promoted to the starting position in July.

Harrington started the first six games of the season for the Falcons, leading them to a 1-5 start before being benched. He was replaced by Leftwich for one game, but then would start four of the next five games before losing his job once more to Chris Redman. The Falcons won two more games in that four-game span. Harrington finished the season with 2215 passing yards and completed a career-high 61.8% of his 348 attempts. He threw 7 touchdowns and 8 interceptions as well.

Roster could see lots of turnover

The AJC's Steve Wyche reports that several Falcons veterans may not be back in 2008. Among players named by Wyche, who cites NFL officials and player agents, are safeties Lawyer Milloy and Chris Crocker, along with offensive linemen Wayne Gandy, Kynan Forney, and Todd Weiner, wide receivers Brian Finneran and Joe Horn, running back Warrick Dunn, quarterbacks Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich, and linebacker Keith Brooking. Wyche reports that many of these players could be released as soon as Friday, February 15.

Wyche indicates that one player that could be potentially safe is tight end Alge Crumpler, who is coming off a down year. But Crumpler may be retained since it's doubtful the Falcons could add someone in the draft or free agency that could adequately replace him.

Crocker is an unrestricted free agent, and is not expected to be re-signed. The remaining players represent 10 of the team's top 15 highest-paid players based on 2008 base salary. The Falcons currently have around $6 million in cap space for the 2008 season. Dunn, Gandy, Milloy, Forney, Harrington, and Leftwich are all entering the final years on their contracts. Brooking and Finneran have two years left on their deals, while Horn and Weiner have three and four, respectively. Among them, Brooking ($4.9 million), Dunn ($4 million), Gandy ($3.5 million), and Forney ($2.95 million) have the highest 2008 base salaries.

Harrington to start vs. Colts

The Falcons have made a short-term decision on who will be the starting quarterback at least for tomorrow night's matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. Joey Harrington will replace an injured Byron Leftwich in the starting lineup. Leftwich is listed among several Falcons as doubtful the Thanksgiving Night matchup against the Colts. Leftwich suffered an injured tailbone in last week's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Head coach Bobby Petrino was noncommittal on whether Harrington or Leftwich would get the start afterwards during this week's press conference: "Since this is such a short week, we are worrying about the Indianapolis game right now. We’ll have a little break after that and we’ll see how everything goes.”

In other injury news, the Falcons listed tight end Dwayne Blakley (concussion), wide receiver Joe Horn (hamstring/foot), and offensive tackle Todd Weiner (knee) also as doubtful. Blakley is expected to be replaced by Courtney Anderson, a free agent pickup from a week ago. Rookie Laurent Robinson has filled in for Horn the past two weeks and will likely do again for a third consecutive week. Weiner was replaced by Quinn Ojinnaka at left tackle during last week's game when he went out with injury. Ojinnaka is expected to do so again, although there might be a chance that Terrance Pennington may be given some reps on Thursday at left tackle.

Also on the injury report was tight end Alge Crumpler who was listed as probable with a foot injury.

Leftwich has surgery; out 3-4 weeks

The Falcons announced that quarterback Byron Leftwich had surgery on his ankle Wednesday morning. And because of it he is expected to miss 3-4 weeks per Bobby Petrino. According to Petrino, Leftwich is shooting for a return in two weeks, but team doctors have indicated the 3-4 week prognosis as the more likely one.

Leftwich underwent a procedure in which he had screws inserted into his ankle in order to help promote and improve healing. Leftwich injured his ankle this past weekend against the New Orleans Saints midway through his first start of the season.

In the meantime, Joey Harrington will resume the starting position. Harrington started the first six games of the season, but was demoted last week in favor of Leftwich.

Crumpler and Sanders on injury report

The Falcons released their Friday injury report and there weren't any significant changes from a week ago. For the second straight week, tackle Todd Weiner (knee) and linebacker Stephen Nicholas (ankle) are both listed as out for this Sunday's matchup against the New Orleans Saints. The notable changes occurred with tight end Alge Crumpler listed as doubtful due to a knee and ankle injury. Fullback Corey McIntyre, the team's special teams captain is also doubtful with a hamstring injury. Cornerback Lewis Sanders (shoulder) is questionable.

Weiner will be replaced for the second straight week with Tyson Clabo at right tackle. If Crumpler does not play, then Dwayne Blakley is expected to make the start. Whether Sanders is healthy enough to play on Sunday may not determine if he starts or not since it is believed that rookie Chris Houston may already be very close to passing him on the depth chart.

Also on the injury report listed as probable are defensive tackles Jonathan Babineaux and Rod Coleman, quarterback Joey Harrington, and wide receiver Joe Horn. Babineaux and Coleman were limited in practices on both Thursday and Friday, but still should play. Harrington had limited participation in practice all week, but with his recent demotion, his health is less of an issue. Horn's injury probably won't threaten his chance to play due to his eagerness to play against his former team.

Leftwich promoted as starter

The Falcons announced today that quarterback Byron Leftwich will start this weekend against the New Orleans Saints. He takes over for Joey Harrington, who has been the starter through the first six weeks leading the Falcons to a 1-5 record. This move seemingly became an inevitability when head coach Bobby Petrino opted to bench Harrington in the fourth quarter two weeks ago against the Tennessee Titans. Leftwich, then the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart entered the game. It only seemed a matter of time before a more permanent move was made.

Petrino explained in his Wednesday press conference that this move is expected to be permanent. Harrington will move to the No. 2 position, while Chris Redman who has served as the backup for the entire year will move to No. 3.

Falcons close to signing Leftwich

The AJC reports that the Falcons are very close to signing free agent passer Byron Leftwich, with an agreement coming as early as tonight.

Leftwich had a physical this morning, after meeting with Falcon officials last night, including owner Arthur Blank.

Leftwich, 27, is expected to provide insurance in case Joey Harrington continues to struggle.

UPDATE: NFL.com is reporting that the Falcons have agreed to terms with Leftwich on a two-year contract. Terms of his deal were undisclosed.

Falcons add Harrington

Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com reports that the Falcons have signed free agent quarterback Joey Harrington to a two-year contract. Terms of the contract were undisclosed. The Falcons brought in Harrington for a visit this past Friday.

Harrington started 11 games last year for the Miami Dolphins, going 5-6 as a replacement for injured starter Daunte Culpepper. For his career, he has started 66 games over 5 seasons. In that span, he's passed for 12,478 yards, 72 touchdowns, and has a career passer rating of 68.1. Harrington is an experienced NFL starter, something the Falcons were looking for with the backup position.

The team traded backup Matt Schaub to the Houston Texans last month, and had been looking for a veteran to replace him. They signed Chris Redman, who played under Bobby Petrino at Louisville, but he had not thrown a pass in the NFL since 2003. Also on the roster was D.J. Shockley, a seventh round pick last season, but he was inactive for every game last season. Harrington will likely secure the No. 2 position behind Michael Vick, while Redman, Shockley, and newcomer James Kilian compete for the No. 3 position. Most teams only carry four quarterbacks in training camp, which means that one of those players may not last until July or August.

No contract offer to Harrington

As an update to the Joey Harrington story, AJC's Steve Wyche writes that according to his agent, Harrington did not work out nor was a potential contract discussed between him and team officials when they met today.

The Falcons have a three-day mini-camp scheduled for next week, and Wyche indicates that the team would like to get a veteran quarterback on board prior to then.

Falcons targetting Harrington

NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports that free agent quarterback Joey Harrington will visit the Falcons this week. Harrington was released by the Dolphins earlier this off-season. He started 11 games for that team last season, posting a 5-6 record as a starter. He completed 57.5% of his 388 attempts for 2236 yards, 12 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, and a passer rating of 68.2.

Harrington is most known for his struggles over as a starter in Detroit. He was the third overall pick in 2002 by the Lions, and struggled through four seasons with that team. Harrington recently visited the Carolina Panthers, but they signed David Carr today, the player that was the first overall pick in 2002.

The Falcons have been looking to upgrade their depth at quarterback since they traded Matt Schaub away to the Houston Texans. The team has worked out Jay Fiedler, and showed interest in free agents Tim Rattay and Anthony Wright. Currently D.J. Shockley and incoming free agent Chris Redman are slated to compete for the backup position. Shockley is entering his second season in the league, and Redman hasn't played in a game since 2003.