Falcons bring Eddie Goldman out of retirement in bizarre decision

Currently, newly minted head coach Raheem Morris and the Atlanta Falcons are in the midst of what figures to be a highly important offseason as for the future direction of the franchise, which is looking to secure its first playoff birth since all the way back in 2017. Morris was previously a defensive coordinator and interim head coach for the franchise and was brought in from the Los Angeles Rams after the Falcons elected to part ways with previous head coach Arthur Smith, who drew the ire of the fanbase on multiple occasions for his bizarre unwillingness to utilize the team’s playmakers on offense.

On the other side of the ball, the Falcons enjoyed a relatively strong season defensively thanks primarily to several key free agent acquisitions, although how much of that was due to the shocking lack of solid quarterbacks that the team faced throughout the season is certainly a point of debate.

Still, it appears that the team is looking to add more reinforcements on that end of the field in free agency, as it was recently announced that the team would be signing defensive tackle Eddie Goldman.

“Eddie Goldman signed with Atlanta back in 2022, retired, came back in 2023, then was done before training camp. Now, he’s back,” reported NFL insider Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter.

Eddie Goldman, who played his college football at Florida State from 2012-2014, established himself as a name at the NFL level primarily during his tenure with the Chicago Bears during the mid-2010’s before being released by the team in 2022.

A pivotal offseason for Atlanta

Of course, another huge part of the NFL offseason for any team is the draft. In the last few years, Atlanta has elected to use its first round picks on skill positional players including Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Bijan Robinson, each of whom were strangely not featured very heavily under the offensive system implemented by Arthur Smith. The frustration from that was largely viewed as the main culprit for Smith’s departure from the team. He has since joined the Pittsburgh Steelers as their new offensive coordinator.

Meanwhile, Raheem Morris was the architect of several strong Rams defenses in recent seasons, helping guide that franchise to the Super Bowl back in the 2021-22 season, where they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals. It will be interesting to see what Atlanta chooses to do with its high selection in this year’s first round of the draft. Many have viewed Alabama defensive star Dallas Turner as a potential target for the Falcons, who will see many more strong quarterbacks in 2024 than they did in 2023.

In any case, Falcons fans will be happy to see that the team is continuing to add talent in this year’s free agency. Although it’s unclear how much he has left in the tank at 30 years old, Goldman has proven himself over the years as a reliable player on the defensive line.

The draft is slated to take place later this month.