ATLANTA (AP) The Atlanta Falcons cleared an opening for rookie fullback Bradie Ewing on Tuesday when they released veteran Ovie Mughelli in a move that also frees salary cap space.

The move was not a surprise after the Falcons traded for cornerback Asante Samuel before last month’s draft and selected Ewing in the fifth round. The Falcons needed to cut payroll, and Mughelli was an obvious target.

Mughelli, 31, was due to earn a base salary of $3 million in 2012. His 2011 season ended when he hurt his right knee in Week 7 at Detroit and was placed on injured reserve. Mughelli‘s 32nd birthday is June 10, nine days before the team’s first minicamp for veterans.

The Falcons gave Mughelli a six-year, $18 million contract in 2007. He made 38 starts in 69 games with Atlanta.

Mughelli said Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coach Mike Smith left open the possibility that he might have a chance to re-sign with the team at a reduced salary.

”Thomas and the coach said that’s a possibility in the future,” Mughelli said. ”We spoke this morning. They said in the coming days they’re going to talk to my agent.”

Mughelli said he was cleared by his doctors in time for one offseason workout with quarterback Matt Ryan and the Falcons on Monday.

”It was great to get back on the field if only for one day on Monday,” Mughelli said. ”I got to catch passes from Matt. For the first time in almost six or seven months I could really run on it, stopping and cutting and all that. It felt good.”

He said he wasn’t told if his release was strictly a financial move or if the team had any concern about his recovery.

”I tried to wedge it out of Thomas and coach to give me a specific reason,” Mughelli said. ”They said myriad of reasons. I’m not here to decide what’s wrong, what’s right in the business. You don’t get to be a 10-year vet without seeing a lot of business decisions like this.”

Mughelli, a powerful blocker who had few opportunities to run or catch the ball in his five seasons with Atlanta, made the Pro Bowl in 2010. He was a fourth-round pick by Baltimore in 2003 and played four seasons with the Ravens and five with Atlanta.

The Falcons’ decision to release Mughelli will place more attention on Ewing (5-11, 243), who will participate in a rookie minicamp that begins Friday. Also returning is veteran fullback Mike Cox, who was signed after Mughelli’s knee injury last season, and Jason Snelling, who can play running back and fullback.

Ewing called himself ”a very versatile player.”

”I think, obviously, I can do all the things the traditional fullback can do, as far as blocking from the backfield and all that stuff,” Ewing said after he was selected by the Falcons. ”But I think I have phenomenal hands. I can catch out of the backfield, I can be split out and I can play special teams.”

The trade for Samuel, a four-time Pro Bowl pick, left the Falcons with a more urgent need to reduce payroll. The Falcons only gave up a seventh-round draft choice to the Eagles for Samuel, but the team’s payroll rose even after he agreed to restructure his contract to a three-year, $18.5 million deal. His contract with Philadelphia called for him to earn $9.9 million in 2012 and $11.4 million in 2013.

The fullback position may carry less emphasis under new Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. The Falcons have pushed a run-first philosophy under Smith, but fifth-year quarterback Matt Ryan’s passing numbers have risen with his experience. Ryan set career highs with 4,177 yards passing and 29 touchdowns last season.

The Atlanta Falcons have released fullback Ovie Mughelli, according to the team’s official website.

Mughelli signed a six-year, $18 million deal with the Falcons in 2007. The contract included a $5 million signing bonus, making the deal the largest for a fullback in NFL history at the time.

The Wake Forest alumni was a Pro Bowler for the Falcons in 2010, and was selected as an All Pro in 2006 and 2010.

Last season the 31-year-old appeared in just seven games for the Falcons.

Former Atlanta Falcons running back Jamal Anderson is facing a seven-figure tax lien from the IRS, according to TMZ .

The website said it obtained documents that confirmed Anderson didn’t pay his federal income taxes in 2007 and 2008. He reportedly owes $1,105,263.51 — $478,247.57 from 2007 and $627,015.94 from 2008.

The IRS has placed a lien on his property, according to the report.

Anderson ran for 5,336 yards and 34 touchdowns in his eight-year career with the Falcons. His best season came in 1998, when he recorded 1,846 and 14 touchdowns and helped lead the Falcons to their first Super Bowl appearance.

According to his official website, Anderson also founded Jam Entertainment in 1996, which “has produced and promoted concerts and specialty events throughout the United States.”

ATLANTA (AP) – Two miles west of the Georgia Dome, the Atlanta Falcons are bringing hope to one of the city’s most troubled zip codes.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank joined 180 volunteers from his family businesses Thursday to improve conditions in a neighborhood that has too many problems to overcome by itself.

Tony Johns, COO of the nonprofit City of Refuge, says no community in Georgia has a higher rate of homicides, drug transactions, poverty and children from single-adult homes. Only 49 percent of the neighborhood’s children graduate from high school.

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, coach Mike Smith and his entire staff worked alongside Blank to double the size of the City of Refuge’s garden space, build an indoor playground and improve housing for single women.

About 80 homeless children live onsite.

The 2012 Atlanta Falcons’ schedule gives the team a great chance to make a run at the NFC South title. With the challenges that the New Orleans Saints will face in 2012, now is the time for the Falcons to make a move on the division.

The Falcons open Week 1 with a road game against the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s a great opportunity to get a quick win and start out the season right. The team follows that up with its only Monday night football appearance of the season in Week 2 against the Denver Broncos.

Outside of the divisional rivalries, two great games on the schedule include a Week 9 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys and then a Week 15 game against the New York Giants.

2012 Atlanta Falcons Schedule

Week 1: Sun, Sep 9 – Atlanta at Kansas City, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Week 2: Mon, Sep 17 – Denver at Atlanta, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Week 3: Sun, Sep 23 – Atlanta at San Diego Chargers, 4:05 p.m. ET (FOX)

Week 4: Sun, Sep 30 – Carolina Panthers at Atlanta, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Week 5: Sun, Oct 7 – Atlanta at Washington Redskins, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Week 6: Sun, Oct 14 – Oakland Raiders at Atlanta, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

Week 7: BYE

Week 8: Sun, Oct 28 – Atlanta at Philadelphia Eagles, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Week 9: Sun, Nov 4 – Dallas at Atlanta, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)

Week 10: Sun, Nov 11 – Atlanta at New Orleans, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Week 11: Sun, Nov 18 – Arizona Cardinals at Atlanta, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Week 12: Sun, Nov 25 – Atlanta at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Week 13: Thu, Nov 29 – New Orleans at Atlanta, 8:20 p.m. ET (NFL)

Week 14: Sun, Dec 9 – Atlanta at Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Week 15: Sun, Dec 16 – New York Giants at Atlanta, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Week 16: Sat, Dec 22 – Atlanta at Detroit Lions, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Week 17: Sun, Dec 30 – Tampa Bay at Atlanta, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Source:

Falcons Team Page

You can now see Indystar.com in a format specifically designed for your tablet. Experience the best local news, video, and photos in a beautiful finger-friendly interface.

You will only see this screen once. You can always browse directly to Tablet.Indystar.com or Indystar.com depending on which version you want to see.

The Atlanta Falcons are hiring former Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Polian to work in the team’s personnel department, a knowledgeable source told ProFootballTalk.com on Sunday.

NFL.com’s Steve Wyche confirmed the hire.

The Falcons are set to announce the move Monday, the source told ProFootballTalk.com.

Polian was fired by the Colts in January after serving as general manager since 2009. His father, Bill, who had been working in the Indianapolis front office for 14 years, most recently as vice chairman, was also fired on the same day following the conclusion of the Colts’ 2-14 season.

Bill Polian was hired as an analyst by ESPN in February.

Chris Polian became the Colts’ director of pro scouting in 1998, the same year his father became the team’s general manager. The younger Polian became assistant director of football operations in 2001, was named assistant general manager in 2004 and was promoted to the role of general manager in 2009.

Since firing the Polians, Colts owner Jim Irsay has engineered a rebuilding effort that’s seen the team part ways with four-time MVP Peyton Manning and select quarterback Andrew Luck with the top pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. Irsay has also hired a new general manager (Ryan Grigson) and coach (Chuck Pagano).

The Falcons’ front office has also seen some re-shuffling since the end of the 2011 season, with former director of player personnel Les Snead leaving to become the St. Louis Rams’ general manager. The Falcons promoted internal candidates to replace Snead, naming David Caldwell director of player personnel and DeJuan Polk director of pro scouting.

Polian has a long-time relationship with Caldwell, who came to Atlanta from Indianapolis in 2007.

By GEORGE HENRY
Associated Press

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) – The Atlanta Falcons have selected South Carolina defensive tackle Travian Robertson late in the seventh round of the NFL draft.

Robertson, a compensatory pick, was the 242nd player chosen overall and sixth taken by the Falcons.

He will compete with Peria Jerry and Vance Walker for snaps behind starting defensive tackles Jonathan Babineaux and Corey Peters.

Robertson was the third defensive player drafted Saturday by the Falcons, who chose Troy pass rusher Jonathan Massaquoi in the fifth round and Mississippi State strong safety Charles Mitchell in the middle of the sixth.

Robertson, a fifth-year senior, helped South Carolina win 11 games last season for the first time in school history.

In a victory over Nebraska at the Capital One Bowl, Robertson’s blocked extra-point attempt resulted in a 2-point defensive PAT.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) The Atlanta Falcons have picked Mississippi State strong safety Charles Mitchell in the middle of the sixth round of the NFL draft.

Atlanta has three safeties returning from 2011 – starters Thomas DeCoud and William Moore and backup Shann Schillinger.

Mitchell played in all 50 games of his career and made 37 starts at safety with Mississippi State.

He is the second defensive player picked by the Falcons in Saturday’s final rounds of the draft. Atlanta chose Troy defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi in the fifth round.

Mitchell, a team captain at Mississippi State, likely will compete with Schillinger for a roster spot and must show Falcons coaches he can contribute heavily on special teams