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Corey Peters Signs One Year Deal With Atlanta Falcons

The first of the team's impending free agents has re-signed with the team, with Corey Peters coming to a one year accord.

By Dave Choate
Stephen Dunn

Corey Peters is back in the fold, meaning the Falcons have one starter at defensive tackle under contract as we head into 2014 free agency.

Peters suffered his Achilles injury at the worst possible time, near the end of a productive season. In 15 games, all of them as a starter, Peters had put together 46 tackles, five sacks and a couple of pass deflections while grading out well by advanced metrics. At just 25 years old, he seemed destined for a big payday, but the timing of the Achilles tear ensured he would be heading into the offseason with no leverage as he went through a grueling, 4-6 month rehabilitation process.

That ensured he would need to take a below-market deal one way or the other, and the one-year contract makes a lot of sense. If Peters is healthy and has a second straight quality season—and I have every reason to believe he will—the Falcons can try to lock him up to a more lucrative long-term deal, or he can hit the open market in the 2015 offseason. It's still unfortunate, but I'm glad Peters is back in Atlanta.

The financial terms of this deal haven't been released by the team, but via Adam Caplan and Scott Carasik, these numbers look like they'll likely be solid:

The team gets an incredible deal for 2014 assuming Peters' healing goes smoothly, leaving them with even more cap space than I would have anticipated to chase other free agents. Peters gets a one-year deal and then can hopefully get paid next season. If the Falcons manage to lock up Jonathan Babineaux, they'll have a good head start on the defensive tackle position heading into free agency, with money and draft picks to spend adding quality players. Tough to argue with any of that.

Your thoughts on the new contract for Peters?

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