Atlanta Falcons Rumors: Tatupu Signing May Mean Curtis Lofton's Done in Atlanta

With starting middle linebacker Curtis Lofton set to hit free agency on March 13th the Atlanta Falcons are apparently making contingency plans in case the four-year veteran departs, signing veteran linebacker Lofa Tatupu to a two-year contract Saturday according to a tweet by NFL reporter Josina Anderson.

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Update: NFL Sources: LB Lofa Tatupu has signed a two-year deal for a maximum value of $5.75 million with the Atlanta Falcons.

— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 11, 2012"

The 29-year-old Tatupu, who has played his entire career with the Seattle Seahawks, sat out the 2011 season while recovering from two knee surgeries, but the former USC standout has a fairly impressive NFL resume, with three Pro Bowl appearances in his six year career.

However, injuries cost Tatupu 15 games over the past three seasons, and although Tatupu did play in all 16 games in 2010 his balky knee limited Tatupu to only 88 tackles that year and Tatupu hasn't topped the 100 tackle plateau since 2007.

This could be nothing more than a depth signing for the Falcons, but as Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution points out it could also signal that Atlanta is preparing for the very real possibility that Curtis Lofton may leave the Falcons after the team chose to forgo placing the franchise tag on the fifth-year pro in lieu of using it on cornerback Brent Grimes.

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The move to sign Tatupu opens the door for Curtis Lofton to leave the team. Lofton, a second round pick in 2008, has been the team’s starting middle linebacker for the last three years. Lofton racked up 577 tackles, including 387 solos. He had four sacks and three interceptions.

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Lofton is an excellent tackler and stout against the run but there had been rumblings earlier this year that new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan was considering removing Lofton from the Falcons nickel subpackages due to his coverage deficiencies, and as the Journal-Constitution's Mark Bradley reported last month it was becoming more and more apparent that the Falcons were not prepared to break the bank for a two-down linebacker.

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The middle linebacker is a three-year starter and a fierce tackler, but there’s growing sentiment that he’s a liability against the pass. The question thus becomes: Would you pay $8 million a year for a two-down linebacker? At the right price, the Falcons would love to keep Lofton. If he does depart, they’d give Akeem Dent, the Georgia product taken in Round 3 last year, a long look in the middle.

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It would appear that the Atlanta front office has decided to hedge their bets with Dent a bit by bringing in the veteran Tatupu in the hopes that a year off has given his knees time to heal, and at this point it also appears that the Falcons don't seem to be all that optimistic about the odds of Curtis Lofton returning to the team and that when the Falcons take the field this September in an effort to erase the bad taste of last year's humiliating playoff loss to the New York Giants they will probably be doing so without one of their defensive stalwarts of the past several seasons.

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