Atkins is 33. Last season he was injured.

As of June he is cleared for football activities.

He is a eight time Pro Bowl player. Three times first team.

IMO he is worth looking at. He never played for a winner.

I have no idea where he is as far as what he once was.

But if he is healthy he could possibly be the best tackle on the roster.

We were open to bringing Sheldon Richardson back, does that mean we are looking for an upgrade on the interior line or that we were willing to bring him back because he was already with the team?

I see no chance of him landing here.

Played 8 games last year and had ONE tackle.
The year before, his numbers fell off a cliff from what had been a very solid track record of TFLs and QB Hits.

Was it that they moved him from DT to DE?
Was it age and Father Time catching up to him?

At 33 and coming off an injury and a VERY POOR 2020 season on the heels of a sub-par 2019 season, even at veteran minimum, he's probably more of a crapshoot than anything for us. You have to remember... we're at the roster limit, so you're cutting someone that we may lose to give Atkins a camp tryout. We definitely have questions at DT, but I don't think we're desperate at DT where this move makes sense for us. The JETS or someone will snap him up.

With Sheldon it was different.

They did not want to pay him. They had a number that he didn't like. So they let him hit the market by releasing him. They left the door open for his return. He decided to leave.

There are 8 guys in camp for possibly four jobs at DT. Malik Jackson was signed as a free agent so he has a job. Jordon Elliott was drafted by Berry last year so he most likely will make the roster. Billings opted out. No quarantee that he makes the team. Togiai was drafted this year so he will make the team.

Sheldon Day and Damian Square are career backups so they could get beat out.

Malik McDowell and Marvin Wilson are basically free agents
on trail. Wilson got a big contract for a free agent. He has potential but he maybe a practice squad player.

If Atkins is close to what he was as a pro bowl player. He is better than all the above.

Togiai and Elliott are guaranteed roster spots unless they really screw up camp.

His last Pro Bowl was in 2019, and I'm 99% certain he made that on name alone, because his production wasn't there. So, the last time he played as a Pro Bowl player was the 2018 season... that is a LONG time ago for a 33 year old DT coming off injury. History says he isn't that guy any longer.

That very well could be. But he sat out most all of last year.

He may have a year in him. And that is all he would get from us. But he would be way better than Day and Square unless he is shot.

I am not saying sign him. But I would bring him in. Have the doctors check him out. See what kind of shape he is in.

It would be worth doing.

Oh, definitely I expect our FO to have already done their due diligence and determine if he gets a look. I expect that if we're interested, he'll be in for a visit by next Thursday at the absolute latest.

We need to find better than this. I can't see any eagerness for him at this point in his career. I have been wrong before, but even as depth we should find better IMO.

He looked like a shell of himself last year. He used to have some pretty epic battles with Alex Mack, but he looked like he was just a body out there on some downs last year. I think the Bengals were spelling him, too.

I might take him for a depth guy at this point, but I don't think he would settle for depth money.

Played in 8 games. Started zero of them.

I think they knew they were going to be bad and just playing young guys. I remember Atkins (and Dunlap) being upset about playing time.

It's the Bengals so I wouldn't give them too much credit.

Yeah, I was just going to say I don't recall them not starting Atkins, which apparently they did, but I do remember it causing strife between Geno, Carlos and Zac.

Look at the guys we have signed, drafted, and let go at DT.

If there were others out there that they felt would be better where are they?

Atkins is 33. That is not mean he doesn't have a good year left. We do not have a guy on the roster at DT that has his production.

IMO he worth the effort to check out.

Maybe they have and said " no help for us."

I don't know. There has been nothing published that he came for a visit.

Billings is on the team. He was a teammate of Atkins. He could probably shed light on him. Then again he would be competing against him maybe for a roster spot.

I trust Berry so maybe what could be done has been done.

I don’t believe he’ll sign here, but I’ve been wrong before. I wonder how Billings will look and what we think he can be like? DT was a position of weakness for sure, but i dont think Atkins is an answer