Atlanta Falcons: 4 free agent linebackers to consider
By John Buhler
Courtney Upshaw. 91. player. 26. . Outside Linebacker. Baltimore Ravens
In his football career, Courtney Upshaw has already won a Super Bowl and a National Championship and he’s only 26 years old. Upshaw won national titles while playing for Nick Saban at the University of Alabama. He won a Super Bowl playing for John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens his rookie year in 2012.
Upshaw enters free agency as a four-year veteran that could grow under Jeff Ulbrich and Richard Smith’s tutelage with the Atlanta Falcons. It seems that the Atlanta Falcons won’t have to spend a ton of money to sign Upshaw, as he hasn’t put up remarkable stats playing for Harbaugh in Baltimore his first four years.
It could have something to do with the once-vaunted Ravens defense getting progressively worse after Ray Lewis retired and both Paul Kruger and Ed Reed left the club in free agency a few years back. Perhaps Upshaw can harness his talents again with a change of scenery by coming back to the Southeastern United States to play for the Atlanta Falcons.
Next: Atlanta Falcons: Areas to improve in free agency
Upshaw grew up on the Alabama/Georgia border in Eufala, Alabama. Would a change of scenery help get him back to being a player worthy of a second round pick in 2012’s NFL Draft? If the Atlanta Falcons believe in the organization’s ability to develop players, then they may end up taking a chance on the former Alabama Crimson Tide standout Courtney Upshaw.