Falcons continue pursuit of Tony Gonzalez
Written by Adrian Gregory Glover // January 31, 2013 // News // 1 Comment
The Atlanta Falcons are pushing surefire Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez to take one more run at a title during the 2013-14 season.
The Falcons were one big play away from playing against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday for the world title.
That is the kind of feeling that competitors can never banish from gut no matter how much money they have in the coffers to live off of.
General Manager Thomas Dimitroff hopes that Gonzalez will see the upside of avoiding a retirement that he proclaimed was a “97-percent” possibility.
Dimitroff spoke with ESPN down at the Super Bowl and provided an update on the team’s perspective.
“A guy who is 36 [years old] catching 100-plus balls, it just doesn’t seem like it’s time for him to move on,” Dimitroff said.
“Tony’s a man and he’s got to make his own decision,” Dimitroff said. “Suffice it to say that it’s not going to be an easy decision for him one way or another because he knows that he still has fuel in the tank and it’s very legitimate fuel in the tank.”
That said, the team has reportedly already stated their case to the best of their ability and now the decision is Gonzalez’s to make.
“We don’t have a deadline at all,” Dimitroff said. “But let’s face it that it’s important for us to know sooner rather than later because we have to move forward on all our decision making.”
A Gonzalez return would have a huge impact on all of the team’s off-season moves.
Atlanta needs to focus almost solely on the defensive side of the ball both in the draft and free agency.
Outside linebacker Sean Weatherspoon needs help in the worst way at the second level of the team’s defense.
The Falcons also need a pass rushing specialist to replace the aging John Abraham.
The jury is still out on what will happen with cornerback Brent Grimes who is coming off of injured reserve after being taken out early in the season.
A Gonzalez return certainly makes life easier for a team that is close to kicking down the door to the gold.
I think nobody would agree with that sentiment more than quarterback Matt Ryan.
