Barring some unforseen injury, it’s doubtful the Falcons five starters will change from last year. Sam Baker, Justin Blalock, Todd McClure, Harvey Dahl, and Tyson Clabo are all set to open the season as the team’s starting five, and something significant would need to happen in order to change that.

The battles here will come for who will sit the bench. Most NFL teams keep a rotation of eight linemen, but usually keep a ninth guy for emergency purposes, meaning that there are probably four open spots on the roster for competition.

The three players that are likely best suited to land three of those spots are Jeremy Newberry, Brett Romberg, and Garrett Reynolds. Newberry is highly experienced and Romberg is a favorite of Paul Boudreau as he played under him in both Jacksonville and St. Louis. Reynolds is the team’s fifth round draft pick and expected to compete for the utility backup position. While the team counts Baker as healthy for the time being, his injuries the past two seasons mean there is some concern over whether he can stay healthy for 16 games, meaning the need for a guy that can fill in at left tackle (and preferably right tackle as well) is key this summer. Last year, the job was filled by Todd Weiner.

Reynolds draft status insulates him somewhat to possibly landing that job. If he does not get that gig, then the most likely option for the fourth reserve is the guy that does win that role. And most likely that will be either Quinn Ojinnaka or Will Svitek. The team likes Ojinnaka’s versatility as they feel he can play all five line spots, but with having players like Newberry and Romberg on the roster, that doesn’t carry as much weight now as it did in the past.

Also in the mix are Ben Wilkerson, who was the top backup to McClure last year, along with Mike Butterworth, Ryan Stanchek, and Jose Valdez. In all likelihood all three of the latter are longshots to make the roster, and instead will hope to impress enough to land on the practice squad. Wilkerson will be hard-pressed to win a job since the team brought in both Romberg and Newberry, implying that aren’t overly impressed with Wilkerson’s ability to provide depth.

This is one of the few positions on offense that you could potentially see the team still looking to address at the end of camp. If either Reynolds, Ojinnaka, or Svitek has filled the team’s confidence on their ability to fill in as a reserve tackle, you may see the team try to target a veteran on the waiver wire.

Updating a previous report, Scout.com reports that the three rookie contracts that were disapproved by the league have now been approved. The contracts of third round pick Chris Owens, fifth round pick Garrett Reynolds, and sixth round pick Spencer Adkins had to be re-done. Pro Football Talk reported previously that the reason for the league’s disapproving of the contracts was due to language oversight involving incentives.

According to the NFLPA website, all three players signed four-year contracts with base salaries of: $310,000 (2009); $395,000 (2010); $480,000 (2011); and $565,000 (2012).  Owens received a signing bonus of $688,000, while Reynolds got around $180,000. It is unknown how much of a signing bonus Adkins got. But as the 176th overall pick, he likely got a sum around $115,000 considering that the 178th overall pick (Seahawks quarterback Mike Teel) signed for $114,000.

Scout.com reports that the contracts signed by three of the Falcons recent draft picks have been disapproved by the league. The specifics of what exactly in the contracts was disapproved is unknown, but according to the report they were all minor and all should be fixed and up to league standards by early next week.

The three contracts disapproved were offensvie tackle Garrett Reynolds, cornerback Chris Owens, and linebacker Spencer Adkins. Per Scout.com, all three players signed four-year deals. Reynolds received a signing bonus of just over $180,000 while Owens got $688,000 in bonus money. All three players signed their deals within the last ten days.

The third Falcons draft pick signed a contract with the team when fifth round pick Garrett Reynolds signed a four-year deal worth about $1.93 million. According to Scout.com, Reynolds received a signing bonus of just slightly over $180,000, likely falling in between the bonuses given to Xavier Fulton ($181,000) and Victor Harris ($180,000) who were selected one spot ahead and behind Reynolds. Both Fulton and Harris signed their deals last week. Reynolds was the 156th overall selection in the draft.

The Falcons used the fifth round pick they acquired from the Dallas Cowboys to take North Carolina offensive tackle Garrett Reynolds with the 156th overall pick. Reynolds could potentially add depth and be developed on the offensive line.

Reynolds, standing 6’8″ 309 pounds is the son of former Rams and 49ers linebacker Jack “Hacksaw” Reynolds. Reynolds played mostly right tackle at UNC, but could potentially be a swing tackle for the Falcons filling in for the retired Todd Weiner.