Report: Falcons worked out LB Reshard Cliett before Vikings signed him

Journeyman linebacker Reshard Cliett signed a deal with the Minnesota Vikings Thursday, which is only relevant to you fine readers because of who he apparently worked out for beforehand.

So, the Falcons worked him out, but wanted to wait until after the draft to reassess things. That probably means they wanted to see if they ended up drafting a late-round linebacker of Cliett’s skillset, and had him as a reserve option if things didn’t work out there.

Cliett’s an outside linebacker who assuredly would’ve been a reserve and a special teamer if he’d signed with the Falcons. The Vikings are his seventh team since being drafted in 2015, so he’s been around the block a bit. The Chiefs waived/injured him at the start of last season, and he didn’t find a home. But, now, he’s with Minnesota, where he looks to be a WLB.

So, you know, it’s not, well, all that important who Cliett is now for Falcons purposes, but it is kind of interesting to know that Atlanta had a linebacker on speed dial in case their draft plans hadn’t worked out. That must mean the team is considering taking a linebacker at some point in the juncture, likely in one of the later rounds, or will hope to land a priority UDFA.

And, does this mean anything for free agents like Kemal Ishmael and LaRoy Reynolds? We’ve heard the team is considering bringing Ishmael back, who also slots in at WLB like Cliett. Ishmael might be a guy the team calls after the draft, too, if things don’t go as planned. Reynolds mans the middle and is a good special teamer/vocal leader, so that could also indicate draft plans are being made to fill his spot. Maybe they wanted to move Cliett inside? Who knows. This is a lot for this story. Let’s wrap this up so we can all go home.

We wish Cliett well as he tries to find a home in Minnesota, and are now a bit intrigued at who the later-round draft prospects might be at LB...

(Thanks to Falcoholic friend Matt Karoly for leading us to this...)