Report: Falcons are Dwight Freeney’s top choice, he could sign in August

The Falcons still have, on paper, one of the league’s most anemic pass rushes. Even if you expect improvement, as I do, they’re going to finish in the bottom third of the league in sacks and pressures, and perhaps even the bottom quarter. They are not, to put it mildly, built to rush the passer well, outside of Vic Beasley and a handful of others.

Enter Dwight Freeney. Please.

Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a somewhat bold take, here, writing that Atlanta seems to be Freeney’s top destination, and that the Falcons could sign him by the first or second week of preseason. His reasoning for the latter is pretty simple: Freeney is old, doesn’t have a lot of years left, and neither needs nor wants to be in a position where he could hurt himself before the games mean anything.

We’re less clear on why Atlanta would be Freeney’s top choice, but he’d be entering a part-time role, Atlanta’s a fun city, and Dan Quinn has a reputation for being a player’s coach. Or perhaps Freeney just wants to be the most popular man in a city for a couple of months, which he will be if he puts up 8-10 sacks for the Falcons.

This is encouraging, though, because Freeney would be such an ideal fit for this oft-struggling Falcons pass rush. Let’s hope Schultz is an oracle, here.