Falcons not rushing William Moore back

Atlanta Falcons safety William Moore hopes to return on at least a limited basis before the end of the offseason, but at this point, it's anyone's guess when he'll be cleared following shoulder surgery.

"When will I be back on the field? When I get cleared," Moore told ESPN's Vaughn McClure. "Seriously though, I don't know. I haven't the slightest idea. I hope in a few more weeks. We're still rehabbing. We're sore right now from rehab, but my body feels excellent. My weight is great. I'm at 220. I was at 230, 232.

"With this defense, we're running and hitting. I'm still going to be down in the box. I'm excited about that."

Moore was limited to seven games last season because of the injury. He underwent surgery in January that carries a maximum six-month recovery timetable, barring any setbacks.

Falcons head coach Dan Quinn is eager to work with Moore, but is in no rush to get him back on the field.

"Well, he looks great, I will say that," Quinn said. "His weight is down. He's always been a great hitter, so I can't wait for him to get back on the field. One of the things is I want him to become a great tackler, too. The effort, the toughness that he brings, I can't wait to have him out there. But I want him at his best where he's healthy as opposed to (be) here and (have) a setback.

"For him, he's worked extremely hard in his rehab, and that's a hard thing. There's a lot of dark times in rehab where you're by yourself and you're not connected to the team. For him to work this hard and show how far he's willing to go, I'm looking forward to working with him."