The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Defensive end Shelby returns on one-year deal
Former Ravens, Bears linebacker McPhee visits.
The Falcons re-signed defensive end Derrick Shelby to a one-year deal Thursday. The Falcons released Shelby earlier this month.
The move to release Shelby cleared $3.25 million in cap space. He was set to make a base salary of $4.5 million. Shelby visited the Seahawks and Browns as a free agent.
The move will add depth to the defensive line.
Shelby originally signed a four-year deal with the Falcons in 2016 after four seasons with the Dolphins. He played six games before a season-ending Achilles injury. He appeared in all 16 games last season, including 14 starts, with 30 tackles and one sack.
Over his career, Shelby he has played in 85 games, including 27 starts, with 142 tackles, 10 sacks, four forced fumbles, two interceptions, one fumble recovery and one defensive touchdowns.
Free-agent linebacker Pernell McPhee visited the Falcons on Wednesday, the team said.
McPhee, 29, played outside linebacker for the Bears the past three seasons. In 36 games, he had 14 sacks and 75 tackles. He was limited to nine games two seasons ago. He also played four seasons with the Ravens. The seven-year veteran has appeared in 96 games with 31 sacks and 139 tackles.
McPhee, 6 feet 2, 275 pounds, was released by the Bears in February after signing a five-year contract in 2015. He has also reportedly visited the Redskins.
McPhee was drafted in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL draft by the Ravens out of Mississippi State.
“He’s another guy along the front,” GM Thomas Dimitroff said of McPhee. “We lost a couple of guys along the front. We are going to continue, as we do on the offensive side, to make sure that we have rotational depth along the defensive line. He’s got a lot of experience. Of course, we haven’t signed him yet, but we are interested in speaking with him.”