The Falcons have a reported flurry of signings on offense (QB Tua Tagovailoa likely, WRs Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus, TE Austin Hooper) and special teams (K Nick Folk, P Jake Bailey), but hadn’t touched defense yet. That all changed with the signing of Cameron Thomas.
That last statement probably landed less dramatically than intended because you had to Google Cameron Thomas. The soon-to-be 26-year-old defensive end began his career with Arizona, stopped off with Kansas City, and spent the
last 1.5 seasons with the Browns and Kevin Stefanski. He’s a depth signing for this defensive front, one who will likely play a similar role to Zach Harrison as an inside/outside guy who will likely be more impactful outside.
The good news? He seems like a quality depth signing. Still young, Thomas has played on a limited basis throughout his career but has consistently shown well against the run and has contributed better pressure numbers than his meager 7.5 career sacks would indicate. He posted 2.5 sacks and 13 pressures last year in just over 300 defensive snaps, and was not credit with a single missed tackle on the season.
I’m not expecting him to take on a huge role in Atlanta, but as a well-rounded, affordable enough option, he’s a welcome signing for a team that could always use more solid players on their defensive front. Atlanta just saw David Onyemata sign with the Jets earlier today, after all.
Give Thomas a warm welcome, and hopefully he can take his career to new heights with the Falcons.
