Dominique Franks And the Tides Of Fortune

I've been doing my darndest to take a look at breakout players and try to divine what some of the guys down the depth chart will be doing come 2013. One thing we haven't really discussed is what to do with players down the depth chart who have been disappointing.

Enter Dominique Franks. Coming out of college, I liked Franks because he seemed like an athlete and a potentially quality tackler at a position of need. By the end of 2011, when Franks had two interceptions and had actually started four games, I saw a cornerback a little rough around the edges who had the chance to take some snaps outside this season. It's fair to say I was still reasonably high on his potential.

A year later, Franks has been released once, buried on the depth chart and widely condemned as a punt returner by Falcons fans everywhere. It's fair to say that no one else on the team suffered such a dramatic change in fortunes. I have no idea if this is something related to his off-the-field maturity or his talent on it, but Franks no longer seems like a major part of the team's plans.

I wouldn't mind seeing him come back as an inexpensive, down-the-depth-chart option, because I still don't think he's the worst cornerback in the world. I just can't stand the thought of him flubbing any more punt returns.

What do you think will happen to Franks this off-season?