Falcons GM says offseason focus is re-signing own players

Thomas Dimitroff is understandably encouraged by his team's direction.

Going into the offseason with some salary cap space provides plenty of financial flexibility, but the Atlanta Falcons general manager isn't planning any major signings beyond re-upping his own players.

"Every year, we've been pretty aggressive in free agency, and we think this year our focus is going to be on signing a number of players on our team who are up," Dimitroff said, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "That's going to be the main focus."

The Falcons have several impending free agents that could be in line for new contracts, including Jonathan Babineaux, Dwight Freeney, Sean Weatherspoon, Eric Weems, and Courtney Upshaw.

Reaching a long-term deal with Desmond Trufant is among the club's top priorities, though, as the standout cornerback is now heading into the fifth and final year of his rookie deal.

Dimitroff reiterated the previously stated belief that a deal to lock up Trufant will be agreed upon sooner rather than later.

"He's a very valuable asset to this team," Dimitroff said. "We are going to get him signed up, and we're going to get him healthy and signed up for years to come."

Overall, the Falcons find themselves in a particularly good spot heading into the offseason. Some significant strides on both sides of the ball allowed Atlanta to run through the NFC en route to a Super Bowl appearance, and the youth on the roster could make the team a contender for years to come.

Staying on that path may simply be a matter of providing the stellar core of talent with some complementary pieces.

"I really believe that we don't have any major holes in this roster," Dimitroff said. "We are continuing to build the depth of this roster. We are continuing to get better and better along those lines. I don't look at any (one) area on the field (as deficit)."