The Atlanta Falcons agreed to a contract with free-agent running back Steven Jackson on Thursday, league sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
As expected, Jackson voided his contract with the St. Louis Rams on Thursday, making the 29-year-old an unrestricted free agent. He said last week that he wanted to start for whichever team he signed with in free agency.
"For where I'm at, going into Year 10, I'm not ready to step back and just become a primary backup or a reduced role guy to be part of a running back by committee," Jackson said on Sirius XM NFL Radio last week. "I still have a lot left in my tank. I still have a lot left to offer to a team. We're not talking about someone that's in Year 12 or 13."
This looks like a great signing by the Falcons and Jackson has a chance to have fantasy success in Atlanta's high-octane offense. Jackson will benefit from extra red zone touches -- Michael Turner had almost twice as many red zone carries as Jackson did in 2012. He'll also enjoy running against defenses that will have to respect Matt Ryan and the Falcons' potent passing game. He has a chance to be a three-down back, but the Falcons may continue to use Jacquizz Rodgers in the passing game. S-Jax looks like a low-end RB1 in his new situation. As for the Rams, it appears (at this point) that they are going to move forward with Daryl Richardson and Isaiah Pead in some sort of a RBBC.
Falcons news
