Falcons Tender RFA Robert McClain At Original Round Level

The Falcons have extended a tender to restricted free agent cornerback Robert McClain:

#Falcons tendered their only restricted free agent, CB Robert McClain, at low level ($1.431M).

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 7, 2014

There have been rumblings about the Falcons chasing a new nickel cornerback, and this won't do anything to quell those rumors. There are a handful of teams that might be interested in surrendering a seventh round pick to steal away McClain, who had an excellent 2012 and a roughly average 2013 season in the Falcons' secondary. It's entirely possible there's little interest in his services or that the Falcons intend to match any offer regardless, in which case McClain will return for a reasonable salary in 2014.

I'm hoping McClain stays. He's still relatively young and can be an asset for this Falcons team. If they do add a veteran or a decent draft pick to compete with him at nickel, it only strengthens what promises to be one of the better Falcon secondaries in the last several seasons.

Thoughts?