Corey Washington, Arthur Lynch sign with Falcons ahead of training camp, Charles Godfrey retires

The Falcons have added Corey Washington to the their group of receivers and Arthur Lynch to the tight end group, along with a surprise retirement.

Washington, 24, stands 6’4” and weighs in at 214 pounds, and comes to Atlanta after stops with the Giants and Lions. He last got on the field for a game in 2014, catching five passes for 52 yards and a touchdown in 14 games (no starts) with New York.

For Atlanta, Washington is a flier with quality size and decent speed, the kind of guy who might surprise and crack the bottom of an unsettled receiving corps. Beyond Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu and Justin Hardy, no one’s exactly guaranteed a role in 2016, so a 6’4” receiver with a little bit of NFL experience under his belt is worth the (very small) gamble as training camp kicks off.

Lynch, 26, is a Georgia product who stands 6’5”, 252, and joins a tight end corps that is set at the top two spots and unsettled thereafter. Lynch is not guaranteed a roster spot, given that he’s never been active in an NFL game, but he was viewed as a solid, well-rounded tight end coming out of college, and may be able to latch on with Atlanta.

Godfrey, meanwhile, was a solid safety for a long time in the NFL, but bounced on and off the Falcons roster over the last couple of years and has now decided to hang ‘em up. We wish him well in retirement, and this move certainly increases the chances that Robenson Therezie and Kemal Ishmael will be the two backup options in 2016, if you didn’t already consider them locks.

I’m going to guess that Washington won’t make this roster ahead of players like Aldrick Robinson, Eric Weems, Nick Williams, and rookie Devin Fuller, but we’ll see how he fares. Welcome them to Atlanta!