There has been speculation for months now that the Falcons might sign Jeremy Newberry as insurance at center, and today they made that dream a reality.

Twelve seasons into his career, the reliable center is not the same player he once was, primarily due to knee injuries that have left him less mobile than before. Still, he played in all sixteen games for the San Diego Chargers last season and is still a terrific backup to have around. That's especially true if the team managed to sign him for cheap, which I suspect is the case.

Of course, there's a slight chance that Newberry will be competing to start if McClure has any problems this season, which is a little bit more frightening. If that happened, it would leave whoever's left out of Alex Stepanovich, Brett Romberg, Ben Wilkerson and Newberry to duke it out for a starting job. My hunch is that given the injury concerns with the position, the Falcons will keep Romberg and Newberry behind McClure.

Basically, it's at worst a nice depth move for the Falcons, who need all the help they can get along the offensive line. I'm on board with it. How about you?