Falcons coach Dan Quinn said he talked to former defensive end Dwight Freeney, but noted Tuesday that the team is committed to evaluating the current players on the 90-man roster.
Quinn also noted that he has talked to other former players, too.
“I haven’t even found out if he’s ready to play yet,” Quinn said. “I know he was pretty committed to golf. He’s such a competitor. But our conversations haven’t been about playing.
“When we drafted (Takkarist McKinley), that was someone I wanted him to connect with. But we haven’t talked about playing. If he does (bring it up), he knows we’re going down the line of looking at our team here first.”
Freeney, a future Hall of Famer, previously said he wants to continue playing. The Falcons drafted McKinley, a defensive end, in the first round (26th overall) and signed Jack Crawford in free agency.
Freeney was solid last season in a part-time pass-rusher role. He had a positive impact on Vic Beasley, who went on to lead the NFL in sacks with 15.5.
“We haven’t gone down the road of talking about playing yet,” Quinn said. “I don’t know where he is on that yet. If we get down to that spot where we talk about it, it would still be that I’m focused on the guys here right now.”
Quinn doesn’t have a timeline.
“I don’t know,” Quinn said when asked about the possible timing of signing Freeney. “I want to talk to him first and see where his mind’s at.”
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