Atlanta Falcons give wide receiver and special teams ace Eric Weems two-year deal

The Atlanta Falcons front office will be very busy over the next week. The so-called "legal tampering" period begins tomorrow, and free agency officially kicks off Tuesday. Charles Godfrey and Nate Stupar were re-signed earlier in the week. Per Vaughn McClure, the Falcons have also re-signed wide receiver/special teams ace Eric Weems.

I'm told WR Eric Weems has agreed to a 2-year deal to return to the Falcons.

— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) March 6, 2015

Eric Weems 2-year deal with Falcons averages close to $1.5 mil per year -- among top special-teamers -- includes escalators for play at WR.

— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) March 7, 2015

The contract tells the story of just how much the Falcons value Eric Weems, and clearly they see a small but real role for him on offense, if they're throwing those escalators in there.

Weems is a fantastic player, even if he doesn't get a ton of looks on offense. Pound for pound, he may be one of the toughest players on the team. It's what ultimately earned him a free agent contract with the Chicago Bears a couple years back, though it appears the Falcons aren't willing to let history repeat itself.

A two-year deal sounds about right. Weems is 29-years-old now, so he's bound to lose a step or two over the next couple seasons. That said, there's no doubt he can contribute on special teams. He led the team with 13 special teams tackles last season, just edging out Stupar, and he still blocks like that 22-year-old, undrafted rookie out of Bethune-Cookman. If there's an example of tenacity counting for something in the NFL, it's Weems.

It appears the Falcons are picking the low-hanging fruit right now. They're getting the easy contracts done, with an eye towards next week's shenanigans. Your thoughts?