O'Brien Schofield hasn't ruled out Falcons yet, though no deal appears imminent

I had all but crossed O'Brien Schofield off the roster a week ago, with the Falcons linked to a number of free agent linebackers and defensive ends. Heck, Schofield himself was publicly pessimistic about a deal getting done.

A lot has changed since then, of course. Whether the Falcons were planning their offseason around guys like James Laurinaitis, Chris Long, and Jerrell Freeman is something we can only guess at, but there was reported interest, and all of those players are now on other teams. The Falcons, as we've noted multiple times in the last couple of days, still have major needs to fill with few draft picks and limited cap space. Given that the two sides have apparently never stopped talking, it would no longer be a surprise to see Schofield return.

By no means have I counted the Falcons out but I'm waiting for the right opportunity for my family and I. It's a business so I'm patient.

— O'Brien Schofield (@Ob_Scho) March 16, 2016

Bringing Schofield back would mean the Falcons at least have some options at linebacker, though they'll still need to hit the position hard in the draft and/or try to scoop up a bargain from the market at some point, given how depleted the position group is. Schofield had two sacks and 30 tackles last year as a part-time starter, though I would suspect he'd return to a rotational role if he does come back to Atlanta.

Expect this to be resolved in a week or so, either way, as the linebacker options continue to deplete for Atlanta.