Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez assured last week that he will be back in 2011 to play the final season on his contract with the Atlanta Falcons. Gonzalez, who said after the playoff loss to Green Bay that retirement was a possibility, is set for his 15th year in the NFL and third with Atlanta.
Gonzalez confirmed on ESPN’s “Jim Rome is Burning” what owner Arthur Blank publicly suspected at last Thursday’s Buckhead Business Association luncheon. “Tony is a first-ballot Hall of Famer,” the AJC reported Blank as saying. “He’s played 14 years. He’s 34-years old. He has a body of probably somebody who’s 24-years old.”
Having played in 222 career regular-season games, Gonzalez has 1,069 catches for 12,463 yards and 88 touchdowns. He hauled in 70 passes for 656 yards and six scores this season, earning Pro Bowl honors for the 12th time. What continues to irk Gonzalez is that he has never won a playoff game; he went 0-3 during his 12-year stint with the Kansas City Chiefs.
OFFSEASON RUMBLINGS …
Atlanta’s loss to the Packers means that players are now free to play in this Sunday’s Pro Bowl in Honolulu. The Packers, who beat Chicago to win the NFC Championship, are not. While Falcons’ cornerback Brent Grimes would surely trade bowls with Green Bay corner Charles Woodson, the league announced on Monday that Grimes will replace Woodson on the NFC’s Pro Bowl roster. Grimes’ inclusion gives the Falcons a franchise-record and NFL-best nine players bound for Honolulu.
John Abraham and Roddy White, who are making the same trip, picked up additional honors on Monday. They were named to the Associated Press All-Pro first team. Abraham tallied 13 sacks during the regular season, fifth best in the NFL. White led the league in receptions with 115 and finished second to Brandon Lloyd in yards with 1,389.
The Falcons signed linebacker Robert James, a fifth-round draft choice in 2008, to a two-year contract on Tuesday. James spent most of this season on the practice squad. Atlanta has 15 free agents, including Grimes, Eric Weems, Stephen Nicholas, Mike Peterson and Matt Bryant.
Loading ...
