Former Falcons EDGE among top remaining NFL free agents

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Former Falcons EDGE among top remaining NFL free agents

Former Falcons EDGE among top remaining NFL free agents

Falcons Wire

Thu, Sep 3, 2026 ·

1 min read

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With Jalon Walker done for the season and James Pearce set to be sidelined the first eight games, the Atlanta Falcons desperately needed to bring in some outside help on the edge.

Matt Ryan was able to sign Za'Darius Smith out of retirement, and that should help keep this rotation from falling into the basement of the league among the worst pass rushes. Smith can't be expected to perform like a Pro Bowler, though - and Atlanta could use more firepower at this position at least for the first half of the season.

The solution may be in the form of a familiar face. According to Daniel Popper at The Athletic, Leonard Floyd is one of the best free agent options still on the market.

"Floyd had 36 pressures in 2025 while playing for the Atlanta Falcons , according to TruMedia. His 13 percent pressure rate ranked in the top 50 among players with at least 200 pass rush snaps. He is still a pretty explosive rusher and could fit as a third edge for a team in need of some depth."

Floyd didn't post eye-popping traditional numbers last season, but keep in mind he only played 49% of their defensive snaps. He remains a disruptive pass rusher even with over 150 career games to his credit and a solid run defender - earning an average 60.0 grade in that department from Pro Football Focus last season.

Bringing Floyd back would be a smooth transition as he's already familiar with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich's scheme. It would also take a great deal of pressure off Samson Ebukam and the rest of Atlanta's edge rushers, who were supposed to be backups this year.