The Falcons aren't opposed to spending money on a veteran pass rusher. It just appears that they would like to spend a little less money.

After the team released John Abraham, it was fairly clear the Falcons were tearing down what they had for a pass rush and re-building. Part of that will be making effective use of promising young players (Cliff Matthews, Jonathan Massaquoi) and part of that is adding pieces through free agency and the draft. The Falcons are now heavily rumored to be targeting a couple of veterans in free agency to further that strategy.

Those two namesare Dwight Freeney and Osi Umenyiora. The team has already been linked to both guys, who offer different strengths and weaknesses. Osi has been a part-time player for a while and has some injury problems, but is still pretty disruptive. Freeney is more of a full-time player, but his skills are declining a bit as he nears his mid-30's. Both can still bring it, but neither would seem to be a major upgrade over Abraham.

The only way this move and adding Freeney or Umenyiora makes sense is if they come cheaper than Abe, and if the team believes they'll play more snaps in the upcoming year than Abe would have. Neither are impossible, but it remains to be seen if either will be true.

Your thoughts on adding Freeney and/or Umenyiora?