Atlanta Falcons: O’Brien Schofield is still available to sign

NFL free agency has been open for a few months now and linebacker O’Brien Schofield has yet to ink a new deal.

Schofield spent the 2015 season with the Atlanta Falcons and played very well. Schofield spent most of his time at strong side linebacker and recorded 30 combined tackles, forced a fumble and sacked the opposing quarterback twice.

Many thought that the Falcons would re-sign Schofield right away, but here we are heading into July and no such thing has happened.

More from Blogging Dirty

• Atlanta Falcons are the perfect fit for Leonard Floyd
• 3 Largest Atlanta Falcons 2023 dead cap hits
• Atlanta Falcons trade up for a quarterback in this full mock draft
• Atlanta Falcons: 3 trade packages to land first-overall pick
• 3 Reasons the Atlanta Falcons shouldn’t fear Derek Carr and the Saints

The 29-year-old linebacker still has a lot left in the tank and could do the Falcons some good in 2016. Atlanta has one of the youngest defenses in the NFL and has a very young core of linebackers.

Atlanta is projected to start a second-year player and at least one rookie at linebacker in 2016 and having a veteran presence and vocal leader added to that group in Schofield would be great. Sean Weatherspoon and Philip Wheeler will do their part in mentoring these young players, but you can never have enough veteran presence on a team.

Schofield was without question one of the biggest vocal leaders on the Falcons’ defense in 2015. He was always doing his best to fire up his teammates and brought back the dirty bird dance which is always a great thing to see. Schofield really embraced the city of Atlanta in his first year here and it would be a shame to see him leave after just one season.

Schofield has been linked to the Seattle Seahawks which was the team he previously played for for two years before signing with Atlanta. But other than that, Schofield hasn’t had anyone knocking down his door.

Schofield not only would bring leadership to a young team, but he would also bring a ton of skill. People need to remember that he had a very good season and did everything that was asked of him.

Next: Ricardo Allen is doing everything the right way

This is a player that will without a doubt see playing time if he were to get re-signed. Do you want the Falcons to re-sign him if possible?