Chauncey Davis, Coy Wire and Trey Lewis released

Falcons coach Mike Smith said the coaching staff had some tough decisions.

The Falcons released three veterans — defensive end Chauncey Davis, linebacker Coy Wire and defensive tackle Trey Lewis — and 14 other players on Friday.  The team needs to release 10 more players to cut down to the mandatory roster of 53 by 4 p.m. on Saturday.

“There [were] a lot of guys fighting for roster spots,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said after the Ravens’ game. 

Smith admitted that there were just a handful of spots open. Running back Antone Smith, who ran for 114 yards on 11 carries and caught two passes for 42 yards against the Ravens, made a strong case for a roster spot.

“We obviously saw some guys step up,” Smith said. “We saw some guys that didn’t necessarily take care of business. We’ve got a bunch of decisions to make. Over the next 48 hours that’s what we’ll be doing. We will be spending our time to put our 53 guys together, to put our roster together to open this 2011 season.”

The team plans to cut in stages and some veterans were let go in stage one.

The team also waived tight end Marquez Branson, fullback Lucas Cox, center Paul Fenaroli, safety Matt Hansen, wide receiver Brandyn Harvey, running back Gartrell Johnson, defensive end Tom McCarthy, cornerback Kamaal McIlwain, center Ryan McMahon, safety Rafael Priest, defensive end Kiante Tripp, safety Suaesi Tuimaunei and linebacker Bear Woods.

The Falcons also reached an injury settlement with wide receiver Andy Strickland.

Davis, 6-2, 272 pounds, was originally selected by the Falcons in the fourth round (128th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft. He spent six seasons in Atlanta, totaling 204 tackles (147 solo), 10 sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries and six passes defensed in 95 career games.

Lewis, 6-3, 312 pounds, was originally selected by the Falcons in the sixth round (185th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft. He totaled 35 tackles (19 solo) and one interception in four seasons in Atlanta.

Wire, 6-0, 225 pounds, was originally selected by the Buffalo Bills in the third round (97th overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft. He has compiled 206 tackles, five sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and six passes defensed in nine NFL seasons between the Bills and Falcons.

Branson, 6-3, 247 pounds, was originally signed by the Denver Broncos as a college free agent following the 2009 NFL Draft. He spent the 2010 season on the Falcons practice squad.

Linebacker Coy Wire, the team's former alternate player representative, set up the team's ad hoc offseason training program.

Cox, 6-0, 245 pounds, was signed by the Falcons as a college free agent on July 26, 2011 out of Georgia Tech.

Fenaroli, 6-3, 310 pounds, was signed by the Falcons as a college free agent on July 26, 2011 out of Stony Brook University.

Hansen, 6-1, 230 pounds, was signed by the Falcons as a college free agent on July 26, 2011 out of the University of Rhode Island.

Harvey, 6-4, 197 pounds, was signed by the Falcons as a college free agent on April 26, 2010 out of Villanova University. He was signed to the Falcons practice squad on December 29, 2010 and later signed as a reserve/future free agent on January 18, 2011.

Atlanta Falcons center Joe Hawley (61) and guard Mike Johnson (79) block defensive tackle Trey Lewis (97) and defensive tackle Vance Walker (99) during NFL football training camp in Flowery Branch, Ga., Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Abell)

Johnson, 5-10, 219 pounds, was originally selected by the San Diego Chargers in the fourth round (134th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft. He was signed by the New York Giants on September 15, 2009 after being waived by the Chargers on September 14, 2009. He was signed by the Falcons on September 21, 2011. In 2010, Johnson saw action in nine games and totaled 36 yards on 10 rushes, including a season-long 23-yard rush.

McCarthy, 6-6, 252 pounds, was signed by the Falcons as a college free agent on July 26, 2011 out of Yale University.

McIlwain, 5-10, 175 pounds, was signed by the Falcons as a college free agent on July 26, 2011 out of Newberry College.

McMahon, 6-1, 284 pounds, was signed by the Falcons as a college free agent on July 26, 2011 out of Florida State University.

Priest, 5-10, 181 pounds, was originally signed by the New Orleans Saints as a college free agent on April 26, 2010 out of Texas Christian University. He was signed by the Falcons as a reserve/future free agent on February 11, 2011.

Tripp, 6-6, 276 pounds, was signed by the Falcons as a college free agent on July 26, 2011 out of the University of Georgia.

Tuimaunei, 6-1, 205, was signed by the Falcons as a college free agent on July 26, 2011 out of Oregon State University.

Woods, 6-0, 245 pounds, was signed by the Falcons as a college free agent on April 26, 2010 out of Troy University. He was signed to the Falcons practice squad on September 5, 2010 and later signed as a reserve/future free agent on January 18, 2011.

Strickland, 6-0, 193 pounds, was originally signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as a rookie free agent in June of 2009. He spent the entire 2010 season as a member of the Falcons practice squad.

The Falcons may establish an eight-player practice squad on Sunday.

 Here’s a position-by-position look at how the roster:

QUARTERBACKS: Locks – Matt Ryan and Chris Redman. Bubble — John Parker Wilson.

RUNNING BACKS: Locks – Michael Turner, Ovie Mughelli, Jacquizz Rodgers, Jason Snelling. Bubble – Antone Smith.

TIGHT ENDS: Locks – Tony Gonzalez, Reggie Kelly and Michael Palmer. Longshot – Ryan Winterswyk.

WIDE RECEIVERS: Locks – Roddy White, Julio Jones, Harry Douglas, Eric Weems and Kerry Meier. Longshots – Drew Davis and Kevin Cone.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: Locks – LT Sam Baker, LG Justin Blalock, C Joe Hawley, RG Garrett Reynolds, RT Tyson Clabo. Backups – T Jose Valdez, G/T Andrew Jackson, C Brett Romberg, C Todd McClure, G Mike Johnson and T Will Svitek. Longshots – Rob Bruggeman.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: Locks — DLE Ray Edwards, NT Corey Peters, UT Jonathan Babineaux, RDE John Abraham, DE Kroy Biermann, DE Cliff Matthews, DT Peria Jerry  and DT Vance Walker. Bubble – DE Lawrence Sidbury. Longshots – DE Emmanuel Stephens and DT Carlton Powell.

LINEBACKERS: Locks — Sean Weatherspoon, Curtis Lofton, Stephen Nicholas, Akeem Dent, and Mike Peterson. Bubble – Spencer Adkins and Robert James.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: Locks — Dunta Robinson, Brent Grimes, William Moore, Thomas DeCoud, Kelvin Hayden.Christopher Owens, Dominique Franks, James Sanders. Bubble – Darrin Walls, Shann Schillinger and Rafael Bush.

SPECIAL TEAMS — K Matt Bryant, KO Matt Bosher P Matt Bosher and LS Joe Zelenka.

–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog

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