Former Syracuse defensive end Dwight Freeney signs with Atlanta Falcons

Former Syracuse Orange defensive end Dwight Freeney has signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons. Freeney was a free agent as of March and visited the Falcons in May.

Freeney is a much-needed addition to a Falcons defense that only accumulated 19 sacks last year, the lowest total in the league. He accounted for eight sacks in 11 games with the Cardinals, almost half of what the entire Falcons defense managed.

Although Freeney played DE in college and in his years with the Indianapolis Colts, he lined up at linebacker with the Cardinals and at his stop before that in San Diego too. It appears Freeney will move back to defensive end, per the Falcons' official release.

Age has probably slowed Freeney down a bit, as he hasn't had a double-digit sack season since 2010, but he's still a solid contributor and the Falcons really can't go anywhere but up from last season. It's unlikely Freeney has much more time left in the NFL and he's potentially a future Pro Football Hall of Fame candidate, so best to add to his already impressive statistics while he can. Interestingly, Syracuse is currently tied for fourth among schools with the most Hall of Famers.