Falcons to land John Abraham in three-way deal with Denver Broncos and the NY Jets

March 21, 2006 on 9:24 pm | In Atlanta Falcons |

The Falcons appear close to landing three-time Pro Bowl defensive end John Abraham from the New York Jets but possibly at a much larger price than they initially wanted to pay.

Atlanta has agreed to trade its first-round draft pick, No. 15 overall, to Denver for its first-round choice (29th overall) and later-round selections in the upcoming April draft, according to a person familiar with negotiations.

The Falcons offered the first-round pick it acquired from Denver to New York for Abraham, which was enough for the Jets to agree to finalize the trade.

Once Abraham signs off on a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract agreement he reached with Atlanta last Friday, the sign-and-trade deal will become official and the Falcons will have the player they targeted to replace Brady Smith and improve their marginal pass rush. An announcement could come as soon as Wednesday.

Should the deal go through, the pressure for Abraham to perform could be high though, especially in these parts.

The last time Atlanta surrendered a first-round pick and gave him a big contract came in 2003 for wide receiver Peerless Price, who was coming off a career season in Buffalo. The Falcons, whose coaching staff was different than the one than acquired Price, cut Price last year after failing to live up to expectations of his contract and the forsaken high draft pick.

Atlanta initially balked at surrendering its top choice in next month’s draft or backup quarterback Matt Schaub when the Jets stated that would be the required compensation for Abraham. The Falcons felt a second-round pick was proper compensation. The Jets came close to accepting Atlanta’s offer until Friday, when the Seattle Seahawks offered their first-round pick (No. 31 overall).

When the Jets agreed to ship Abraham to Seattle - a trade that could not be executed because Abraham had to agree to a contract first since he was designated by New York a “franchise player” - Atlanta was forced to increase its bid.

The Falcons are gambling that Abraham’s impact and durability - injuries have cut short three of his six seasons - will provide greater short- and long-term rewards than that of an incoming college player.

With 53 1/2 sacks - 10 1/2 last season - and a reputation that immediately places him among the top-shelf defensive ends in the NFC South, Abraham should alleviate some of the attention paid to left end Patrick Kerney and Pro Bowl tackle Rod Coleman, who had 10 1/2 sacks last season.

Abraham joins free agent Pro Bowl safety Lawyer Milloy and three-year veteran safety Chris Crocker - the Falcons traded their upcoming fourth-round draft pick to Cleveland for Crocker - as acquisitions that addressed the team’s most needy areas.

With last season’s big free-agent pick up, middle linebacker Ed Hartwell, expected back from season-ending Achilles’ tendon surgery, the Falcons figure to be significantly better on defense, especially against the run, where they ranked 26th in the NFL last season.