Falcons free agent rumors: Atlanta a finalist for safety Ron Parker?

The Falcons went from frontrunner to also-ran awfully quick on Brian Orakpo, so take this report with the appropriate grain of salt.

One source said #Bears & #Falcons are most involved for #Chiefs S Ron Parker at this point. Not sure how close it is but FA opens in 3 hours

— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) March 10, 2015

D. Orlando Ledbetter and Vaughn McClure both heavily linked the Falcons to Parker, a rangy, athletic defensive back who started a full season for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014. He ranked poorly in coverage per Pro Football Focus, but he's still young, he has nice size and many believe he can play either cornerback or safety. That versatility no doubt interests the Falcons. The Bears are in and it's believed the Eagles have a level of interest after losing out on Devin McCourty.

If this report is accurate, the Falcons will be bidding against the Bears for Parker, and we don't know how high they'll be willing to go to land him. In the case of Corey Peters, Sean Weatherspoon and then Orakpo, they haven't seemed willing to outbid anyone, but perhaps Parker is a bigger priority than we've realized.

Three hours until we get some real news. Can't wait.