Eddie Goldman Atlanta Falcons Free Agent
Atlanta Falcons News

Eddie Goldman Opts to Retire Rather than Play for Falcons

Goodbye Eddie Goldman. Good luck in retirement. It’s like we hardly knew ya.

The Atlanta Falcons signed defensive lineman Eddie Goldman two weeks ago as a free agent, and rather than play with the birds this season, Goldman has elected to retire according to Ian Rapoport.

“Veteran DT Eddie Goldman, who recently signed with the Falcons, has informed the team that he’s retiring instead, source said,” wrote Rapoport on Twitter. “The former Bears standout, who is 28, played six seasons, plus the opt-out year in 2020.”

Goldman stood to be a significant upgrade in the middle of the Falcons defense over a rotation of Mike Pennel, Tyeler Davison, and Anthony Rush last year.

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Goldman started just ten games last season for the Bears last season and may have decided his heart and/or body weren’t in it any more.

The Falcons had penciled in second-year pro Ta’Quon Graham as the starter at nose guard before acquiring Goldman, but the former fifth-round draft pick has some work to do before being considered even an average NFL defensive lineman.

The Falcons have made mostly positive moves on the defense this offseason considering the salary cap restraints ($55 million going to Matt Ryan and Julio Jones). Casey Hayward is a good option at cornerback to replace Fabian Moreau.

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Lorenzo Carter should be able to at worst equal the production of edge rusher Dante Fowler. The Falcons drafted two edge rushers including Arnold Ebiketie to replace the unproductive Steven Means, and Rashaan Evans and rookie Troy Anderson bring size and speed to the linebacker position that the Falcons have lacked.

But the defensive line is still a question mark after Grady Jarrett. Eddie Goldman was supposed to provide an answer in the middle of defensive coordinator Dean Pees’ 3-4 defense, but it’s a question mark once again.

Last week on Forging the Falcons, we lauded the moves that general manager Terry Fontenot has made on defense during a short-handed offseason.

We’ll discuss again Wednesday at 9 a.m. EST the impact of losing Goldman and possible replacements.

Scott Kennedy
Scott Kennedy is an Atlanta native and 20 year media veteran including time as Director of Scouting at Scout.com, Managing Editor at 247Sports, VP Content Operations at Sports Illustrated and more. Scott has appeared as a recruiting and NFL Draft analyst on dozens of media including ESPN, NFL Network, USA Today, NY Times, and more.
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