The Falcons opted not to use the franchise tag to secure the services of safety William Moore from the 2013 season, but that wasn’t a sign that they didn’t want Moore to remain in Atlanta.
The team is still interested in holding onto Moore and D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the team has “ramped up” negotiations with the safety in recent days. Moore and every other free agent is free to start talking to other teams on Saturday, so the Falcons will have to ramp things up quickly to keep other teams from getting a chance to steal him away.
Along with Dashon Goldson, Moore is high on the list of free agent safeties that teams will be looking to sign to long-term deals. It’s a good thing, then, that Moore said this week that he wanted to get a deal done with the Falcons quickly.
Ledbetter also reports that the team has stepped up its efforts to re-sign left tackle Sam Baker. He’s not as highly regarded as Moore, especially not in a fairly crowded tackle market, but Baker would likely generate some interest on the open market. As long as no one bowls Baker over with a huge, immediate contract offer, that might help the Falcons land him at a price to their liking.