Falcons put in claim on safety D.J. Swearinger, clearly keeping eyes open at the position

If you thought the Falcons were done at safety, guess again, you bad guesser.

Source: 8 total teams put in a waiver claim on S D.J. Swearinger - TB, JAX, OAK, NYJ, ATL, BUF, PITT, BALT. Bucs had 1st priority.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 13, 2015

Swearinger was a deeply divisive player because of his skills and some concerns about his attitude, so we can debate his acquisition purely hypothetically. But the Falcons clearly were interested in adding the 24-year-old to their secondary, which tells you think either like him as a player quite a bit or simply saw the chance to take a flier on a player they felt they could mold. Either way, it's a moot point because the Buccaneers had the first waiver priority.

At its heart, this claim is little more than taking a chance on a young player with some upside at a relative position of need, but it tells you what the Falcons think of their situation at free safety. They struck out on some free agents this spring and would presumably like to add veteran competition, at the very least, but will need to now see if any decent safeties shake loose over the course of the summer. If not, they'll roll with a competition that will include Charles Godfrey, Kemal Ishmael and Ricardo Allen, a competition I expect Godfrey to win.

This team will get by with Godfrey, in all likelihood, but don't be surprised in the slightest if they acquire another safety by September. It just won't be Swearinger.