Every time a former Seahawks pass rusher is let go, Falcons fans go ballistic in hopes the team will sign them. Understandably so, considering how well Dan Quinn had his Seattle defensive line performing on their way to back-to-back Super Bowls – results that have not followed him since arriving in Atlanta. Finally, the Falcons were able to land one last year after the Raiders parted ways with Bruce Irvin mid-season.
Individually, the results were not spectacular, but Irvin’s overall impact on the pass rush was indisputable. He had 8 QB hits and 3.5 sacks in eight games with Atlanta, and more importantly, opened up some opportunities for Vic Beasley – who began to show some life in the second half of the season. Beasley only had one sack before week ten – the second week of Irvin’s tenure with the Falcons. In the final seven weeks, Basley had four sacks and six tackles for loss.
Per Vaughn Mcclure of ESPN, the Falcons are interested in bringing back Irvin.
I know the Falcons would like to bring back Bruce Irvin. Let's see if creating some cap room with Matt Ryan, as reported by @FieldYates, makes that happen.
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) March 12, 2019
With the Falcons able to save $7M in cap space by restructuring Ryan’s contract, signing Irvin is much more fathomable. Atlanta has also shown interest in adding to their offensive line. Irvin is not the ideal pass rusher but given the limited funds the Falcons are working with and his familiarity with the system, the team is not going to be able to do much better, especially as they look to address other needs as well.