The Atlanta Falcons have landed former Bucs defensive end Adrian Clayborn, signing him for a one year deal worth $4.5 million.
The Falcons continue to shore up their defense in NFL free agency, on Thursday signing former Bucs pass rusher Adrian Clayborn to a one-year deal. The Falcons official team Twitter announced the deal as well as a deal with cornerback Phillip Adams. According to a story by ESPN, the deal for Clayborn is worth a max amount of $4.5 million.
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Clayborn will be 27 in July and is listed at 6’3, 280 pounds. He was Tampa’s first round pick in 2011 and started his career with a strong first year where he had 7.5 sacks. In contrast, Clayborn’s 2014 did not go well as he tore his biceps in the season opener and then missed the rest of the season. Previously, he had missed most of the 2012 season with a knee injury. Clayborn has Erb’s palsy, which gave him nerve damage in his right arm and shoulder, but it hasn’t stopped him from doing well on the football field.
Clayborn already has some familiarity with the Falcons staff, having been drafted by Raheem Morris when Morris was the head coach of the Bucs. Morris is now the Falcons assistant head coach. The Falcons defensive line coach is Bryan Cox, whom Clayborn played under when they were both with the Bucs.
Cornberback Phillip Adams previously played for the Jets, which had one of the worst secondaries in the league last year. Adams had 24 tackles and one interception while playing in 12 games for the Jets last year. He will likely be competing for a back-up role in the Falcons secondary.
The Falcons are still looking to add defensive pieces, however. They reportedly made a pretty big offer to former Titans linebacker Derrick Morgan, but Morgan still left to visit the Bucs, though he hasn’t signed there yet either. The Falcons already added three other linebackers in Justin Durant, Brooks Reed and Mike Person.
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