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The Atlanta Falcons continued to make some moves following America’s birthday and signed Chicago Bears defensive tackle Eddie Goldman.
Goldman inked his deal on Wednesday, July 6, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
He comes to Atlanta on a one-year deal marks the sixth player the Falcons have signed from the 2021 Bears roster.
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Goldman Is a Former 2nd Round Pick
Goldman initially entered the league in 2015 as a second-round pick (39th overall) by the Chicago Bears during the NFL Draft.
He made an immediate impact as a rookie, logging 39 tackles and six tackles for loss through 15 games and finished the season ranked fourth among rookies with 4.5 sacks. He was also named Mel Kiper Jr.’s All-Rookie Team and Pro Football Writers of America’s All-Rookie Team.
Goldman was on track to be Chicago’s starting nose tackle but a high ankle injury cut his season short, thus only getting five starts.
He bounced back in 2017 and played in 15 games with 14 starts where he recorded 1.5 sacks, 44 combined tackles, five quarterback hits and a fumble recovery.
The next year, Goldman signed a four-year extension worth $42 million with $25 million guaranteed. He ended the 2018 season with an 89.2 grade from Pro Football Focus, which ranked him 12th among interior defenders across the league.
And in 2019 Goldman was finally selected for the Pro Bowl as an alternate.
When Covid-19 hit in 2020, Goldman decided to step away from the Bears and focus on his health. He returned last fall where he played in 14 games and logged half a sack with 22 tackles.
After six seasons in Chicago, the Bears released him this past March.
Falcons Continue to Use Chicago Bears Connection
Atlanta has now signed several former Bears players this offseason, which makes sense since the team added a number of Bears to their coaching staff and front office, including former Bears’ general manager Ryan Pace.
The team hired Pace in February to serve as a senior personnel executive, who is no stranger to the Falcons’ front office after working with general manager Terry Fontenot in New Orleans for 13 seasons. However, after 15 total years with the Saints, Pace left to take the Bears GM job in 2015, where he was until he was fired at the conclusion of the 2021 season.
Chicago decided to move on from Pace after seven seasons, a 48-65 overall record and failing to log a playoff win. During his seven-year regime, the Bears made it to the playoffs twice, but never made it past the first round. Their first post-season birth under Pace came in 2018 when they went 12-4 but then they were eliminated in the wild-card round. Two years later, they made it to the playoffs after an 8-8 season in 2020, but again, were eliminated in the wild-card round.
After letting Trubisky walk in free agency, they threw rookie quarterback Justin Fields in the fire, who wasn’t ready to play at the next level just yet and the Bears finished the 2021 season with a 6-11 record.
Pace is joined by some other former Bears coaches in Atlanta, including offensive coordinator Dave Ragone, quarterbacks coach Charles London, running backs coach Michael Pitre and outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino. Not to mention ex-Bears general manager Phil Emery, whom Pace replaced in Chicago and is now working as a senior personnel executive under Fontenot as well.
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