Mitchell Layton/Getty Images Ryan Kerrigan #91 and Fabian Moreau #25 of the Washington Football Team celebrate against the Cincinnati Bengals on November 22, 2020.
On Wednesday the Atlanta Falcons continued the process of re-making their secondary by signing former Washington Football Team cornerback Fabian Moreau, this according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network/NFL.com.
The #Falcons have agreed to terms with former Washington CB Fabian Moreau on a one-year deal, per source.
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Fabian Moreau is a Former Third-Round Pick
Moreau, who will turn 27 on April 9, was drafted by Washington in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft (No. 81 overall) out of UCLA. He has ideal size for a cornerback, good speed and athleticism, and 18 games of experience as a starter. Depending on additional acquisitions, he most likely slots in as the No. 4 or nickel cornerback.
As for his career numbers, he appeared in a total of 60 games for Washington, registering 125 total tackles (84 solo), with six interceptions, 14 passes defensed and three forced fumbles. He’ll be looking to rebound from a 2020 season in which he played in a career low 337 snaps (defense and special teams included). In 2019 he finished the season on injured reserve (hamstring), but for the most part, injuries have not kept him off the field.
Moreau is the second defensive back that the Falcons have signed in the past week, the first being strong safety Erik Harris, who comes over from the Las Vegas Raiders. But there is much more work to be done in terms of this position group, especially with three safeties leaving Atlanta, including Keanu Neal, who has signed with the Dallas Cowboys, and the Bengals snapping up Ricardo Allen.
Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot faces the challenge of rebuilding a secondary that allowed the most passing yards in the NFL last season (4,697) at a rate of 7.9 yards per attempt.
LB LaRoy Reynolds Signs with New England
In other free agency news from Wednesday, the New England Patriots have signed former Falcons linebacker LaRoy Reynolds. The 30-year-old played in all 16 games for Atlanta last season and recorded 12 tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, despite playing just 40 defensive snaps and 275 special teams snaps.
Last year was Reynolds’ second go-round with Atlanta, having also played for the team in 2016 and 2017. In between he spent 2018 with the Philadelphia Eagles and 2019 with the Cincinnati Bengals. He entered the league in 2013 with the Jacksonville Jaguars after playing his college ball at the University of Virginia. In 2015 he was claimed on waivers by the Chicago Bears after he was released by the Jaguars.
Over the course of his entire NFL career Reynolds has 117 career tackles (85 solo) in 115 games, primarily on special teams. He has also been credited with three tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, three passes defensed, a forced fumble and three fumble recoveries.
Meanwhile, the Falcons have signed two linebackers in the past week, including Brandon Coleman, who was most recently with the Patriots. The other is Barkevious Mingo, a former No. 6 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
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Falcons Signing Former Washington Cornerback: Report