Falcons release former first-rounders Anderson, Jenkins
Jamaal Anderson got one of his 4.5 sacks last season against Seattle. (Associated Press).
FLOWERY BRANCH – The Falcons cleared $7.8 million under the salary cap by releasing veteran defensive lineman Jamaal Anderson and wide receiver Michael Jenkins on Friday.
Anderson and Jenkins were both former first-round picks.
Anderson taken eighth overall in the 2007 drafted and never blossomed in to the sackmaster that the Falcons envisioned when he was selected. The Falcons passed on future stars Patrick Willis and Darrelle Revis. Willis, a linebacker, went 11th to San Francisco and Revis, a cornerback, went to the Jets with the 14th pick.
Willis has been to four Pro Bowls and has been named an All-Pro three times. Revis has been to three Pro Bowls and has been named All-Pro two times.
Anderson played in 60 games and made 47 starts, but had just 3.5 sacks (The Falcons officially have him for 3.5 sacks. Pro-Football-Reference.com has him for 4.5 sacks. The Falcons gave the credit for the sack against Seattle to Jonathan Babineaux.)
Jenkins was selected with the 29th pick in the 2004 draft.
He was a mainstay in the offense, but never amassed over 100 yards receiving in a game. He had a career-high 53 catches in 2007 and a career-high in yards of 777 in 2008.
Jenkins’ future was in doubt after the Falcons traded five picks to move up 27 spots in the draft to select wide receiver Julio Jones with the sixth pick of the 2011 draft.
With the extra cap room, the Falcons will likely be able to pursue free-agent defensive end Ray Edwards.
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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369 comments Add your comment
nobody
July 29th, 2011
9:51 am
If Kerry Meir is healthy he will replace Jenk in the slot. Mark it down.
yojimbot
July 29th, 2011
9:51 am
Depending on how a couple of the rookies pan out, I’d take JA98 back at the league minimum. He has zero burst and no tools to penetrate, but damn if he isn’t an immovable rock on run D. Still, I’d give even the undrafted FAs a hard look before that happened.
For me, Jenkins’ legacy will be three catches: Catching Matt Ryan’s first NFL pass (for TD), that clutch grab with one second left against the Bears to set up Elam’s game-winner, and the third-down catch against the Ravens (on seemingly the same pattern), that he caught with just three or four of his fingertips, to set up the Ryan-to-White game-winner. After seven seasons, though, you’d like to be able to say more about a receiver’s game than, “Boy, what a blocker.” Wish him the best elsewhere.
Now go get Osi.
honest_abe
July 29th, 2011
9:51 am
ummmm why is this blog eating my posts?
really? greg? what other routes does moss run? dude didn’t even get PT on the freaking titans. cmon man! get real. thi’s isn’t 2001! moss’s wheels are broke… if brady can’t use him when they didn’t have any other receievers then it’s probably a good sign he’s done.
Tom
July 29th, 2011
9:52 am
We need Finneran
He is ALWAYS clutch
UGA 1999
July 29th, 2011
9:52 am
NEWS FLASH!! FALCONS WILL ANNOUNCE SIGNING RAY EDWARDS AND NNAMDI ASOMUGHA…..DEALS ARE DONE!
Tom
July 29th, 2011
9:53 am
Enter your comments here
Dan
July 29th, 2011
9:53 am
I think we will be fine in the slot with Harry Douglas and the up and coming Kerry Meier … I heard a lot of good things about Meier before his injury…
AntoineFord
July 29th, 2011
9:53 am
Love him or hate him, Randy Moss is the second best receiver ever to play football.
d
July 29th, 2011
9:54 am
jenkins needed to go, mediocre just doesn’t cut it at the highest and he wasn’t going toget better. part of my routine-’I'm so old I remember when being able to catch the ball was more important than vertical leap or what you look like, today steve largent wouldn’t be allowed to sit at the diner’s counter and would be made to sit at the back of the bus’
anderson did not fill the spot of DE stereotype, however, watching that guy push people around cause log jams and confusing that altered the plays of other teams and increasing the positive stats of everyone around him, i don’t feel good about the release, he should’ve been used in a way that worked well for who and what he is, like so many big guys that fit the part but can’t or won’t block can be out performed by a smaller player that doesn’t look like he fits the part but will block, without penalties and without the need to play dirty, and set a teammate up for success,
UGA 1999
July 29th, 2011
9:55 am
Randy Moss will not come to Atlanta to be the #3 receiver and neither will T. Owens.
MG in NJ
July 29th, 2011
9:55 am
98 & 12
BUSTS
nobody
July 29th, 2011
9:56 am
So how much under the cap are we now? Is it 8 mil or is this 8 mil on top of what we had?
UGA 1999
July 29th, 2011
9:57 am
8 mil on top.
chickenman
July 29th, 2011
9:57 am
Finally moved the deadweight… clears up some cap to go get some defensive help… i pray for nnamdi because edwards wasnt even that productive in minn but ill be happy if he comes here to help the pass rush since i dont think we have the talent to go 13-3 again on def without an upgrade somewhere
D Wilkins
July 29th, 2011
9:57 am
Bring back Dez White. He hasnt played in a few years and is still in good shape.
nobody
July 29th, 2011
9:58 am
So whats our under the cap number now?
UGA 1999
July 29th, 2011
9:58 am
DEZ WHITE used to be my neighbor. Great guy.
UGA 1999
July 29th, 2011
9:59 am
FALCONS WILL ANNOUNCE NEW SIGNINGS AT 1PM TODAY.
D Wilkins
July 29th, 2011
10:00 am
Yeah not dogging him out, great guy. Just saying he is available and still fairly young…
Stick
July 29th, 2011
10:01 am
Ryan needs to grow steel to compete with Green Bay. He showed his youth last year as my Pack took him to school.
UGA 1999
July 29th, 2011
10:03 am
STick….YES Green Bay looked great but it was not Ryans fault that we lost….our defense could not contain Rodgers.
Ima Greedy Dollarmonger
July 29th, 2011
10:06 am
I can’t beleive anyone with half a brain would let the greedy moneymongers in pro ball steal their hardearned HONEST money to see a ballgame. I gave up my season tickets 8 years ago. Let the scammers pluck someone else !!!!
DawgsnFalcons
July 29th, 2011
10:06 am
So should the Falcons use the money that they freed up by cutting Jenkins and Anderson to try and sign Ray Edwards? Is he worth it or should they use it to try and resign Snelling and lock up Grimes or perhaps sign Dahl or Blalock?
SeenHimHateB4
July 29th, 2011
10:06 am
No lets get Edwards and James Jones.
UGA 1999
July 29th, 2011
10:07 am
EDWARDS AND ASOMUGHA ARE NEW FALCONS!
add14jazz
July 29th, 2011
10:08 am
Randy Moss????? Are y’all serious????
DawgsnFalcons
July 29th, 2011
10:08 am
Falcons aren’t in the hunt for Asomugha.
UGA 1999
July 29th, 2011
10:09 am
DawnsnFalcons….sorry dude the deal was done last night.
JP
July 29th, 2011
10:10 am
Say what you want about both of these guys, but they played hard to the best of their abilities. I don’t remember ever reading reports of how they were cancers in the locker room, etc. I watched the Falcons every week and both of these guys tried. It’s not their faults they were 1st round draft picks.
JMar
July 29th, 2011
10:10 am
I hope they bring JA back at a discount. He’s an excellent run stopper.
DawgsnFalcons
July 29th, 2011
10:11 am
UGA 1999 Sorry my fellow Dawg fan but I think you might’ve smoked some bad stuff. LOL Falcons haven’t signed Asomugha. Can’t afford him. He’s gonna probably get a minimum of $10 mil per year.
swatguy
July 29th, 2011
10:12 am
I think you are right Dan.
Harry’s injury takes two years to heal fully. He should be physically restored now. Before his injury he was the most explosive player on the roster. Kerry Meier was turning heads last summer before his injury so, he might be that 5th reciever. Also, Weems should get more snaps in the offense. I’d like to see Finn bulked up as a backup TE, Tony don’t block while Finn blocks and catches (less than 5 mil. than TG)
bama falcon fan
July 29th, 2011
10:13 am
Anderson should have been cut last year. The writing was on the wall for Jenkins. I wished Falcons GM and coach would stop drinking the Kool-Aid and get rid of TE – Tony G; RB-Michael T. and update those spots while we can without having to wait for the draft.
DawgsnFalcons
July 29th, 2011
10:13 am
JP: I agree they played hard but they never should’ve been taken in the first round. Not their fault it was of course the previous regime and they clearly didn’t live up to the 1st rd billing. I like both guys as far as being character guys however, that will only get you so far. Need some production on the field.
UGA 1999
July 29th, 2011
10:14 am
DawgsnFalcons…..is there some way we can make a wager on this blog?? The announcement will be made at 1pm. For both Edwards and Asomugha. They have been wanting to cut Anderson for a while…but they had to cut Jenkins this morning to make room for Asomugha.
cwltank
July 29th, 2011
10:15 am
Not at all surprised by the cuts, Jenkins made a lot to be on 3rd on the debt chart. Anderson was not a starter either.
UGA 1999
July 29th, 2011
10:16 am
bama…..get rid of Tony G? yes he is older but is still a huge part of this offense. As long as he wants to play with the Falcons, they will keep him.
Who would you recommend we go after to replace Michael T.?
denverfalcon
July 29th, 2011
10:17 am
Hopefully they can resign MJ for less money. He wasn’t really worth the extension he got, but if we can get him on the cheap, he’s still a decent WR. Glad to see JA go however, he didn’t anything at the end position. Hopefully we don’t see him blow up somewhere else.
DawgsnFalcons
July 29th, 2011
10:17 am
UGA 1999: Not a gambler so I’ll just have to take your word for it. However, the math doesn’t add up, so I highly doubt that we have Asomugha not to mention none of the media outlets have mentioned our names in relation to Asomugha. Supposedly he’s going to the Jets. I’ve only heard that we’re hot and heavy for Ray Edwards.
Lesa
July 29th, 2011
10:19 am
I will miss Michael Jenkins. He made some clutch plays for us through the years. I hope he catches on with a good team that is not in our division.
Vampire Bill
July 29th, 2011
10:19 am
I like both of these moves.
Sunshine Falcon
July 29th, 2011
10:19 am
The Falcons are planning for a big pick up, on the Defense.
They resigned Clabo at OT and have Offensive Guards already to take over, for Dahl and Blaylock.
Asmogh could be another Deion and take away an entire side, of the field.
I just wish we hadn’t given Robinson all of that money last year, but he has talent and he could still work out.
UGA 1999
July 29th, 2011
10:21 am
Dawgs….I agree, that is what the media outlets have been reports. ESPN is here in Flowery Branch this morning to report the signings. Again Asomugha was a last minute deal that broke late last night.
DawgsnFalcons
July 29th, 2011
10:24 am
UGA 1999: If that’s true it will be the biggest splash of the FA season. I just don’t think that it’s true. Sorry. I don’t see the money in the cap for us to sign him.
Discount Ben
July 29th, 2011
10:25 am
…but what about my official NFL authorized Michael Jenkins Jersey?? Who do I see about that?
Kew
July 29th, 2011
10:27 am
Dawg, it could happen if Asom decided to take less money to play for a contender. Maybe he got a longer deal for lesser money.
DawgsnFalcons
July 29th, 2011
10:27 am
Discount Ben: Dude I’m afraid you’re in the same boat I was in when they got rid of MeAngelo.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 29th, 2011
10:28 am
Jenkins never had 100 yard receiving in a game? That is astonishing. Hell he caught the 60 yarder Ryans first pass ever and did nothing after?
DawgsnFalcons
July 29th, 2011
10:29 am
Kew: When we cut Jenkins and Anderson we freed up 7.8 Million in the cap. Does anyone realistically think that you could sign Edwards and Asomugha for that? I think not. It will be difficult to sign Edwards for that.
UGA 1999
July 29th, 2011
10:30 am
1pm gents….1pm.