March 5, 2008

A second round of Falcons cuts similar to the mass release of TE Alge Crumpler, DT Rod Coleman, QB Byron Leftwich and four others on Feb. 15 has not come yet, but we hear more trimming could take place after a minicamp three weeks prior to the draft in April. Teams with new head coaches, such as Atlanta, get an extra camp before the draft in addition to the two each team holds post-draft. First-year coach Mike Smith will likely use that time to take a close look at WR Joe Horn and others to decide whether they are expendable or not. As of now, WRs Roddy White, Michael Jenkins and Laurent Robinson are entrenched as the Falcons’ top three pass catchers, so Smith will gauge whether the 36-year-old Horn is a good fit as a No. 4 or if Atlanta would be better served by spending a draft pick on his replacement. The minicamp will be voluntary and while many veterans of Horn’s stature opt not to attend such workouts, our source said he expects the “professional” to be in attendance.