Atlanta, Georgia (AP)-- After expressing their need all offseason for a slot receiver, the Atlanta Falcons finally became active and acquired the player they have been looking for since Brain Finneran went down with a season ending injury. In a three-team deal between the Falcons, Washington Redskins, and Denver Broncos, a two-player swap was made which saw veteran WR Ashley Lelie, formerly of the Broncos shipped to the Falcons, who in turn traded RB T.J. Duckett to the Redskins. In return the Broncos picked up two mid round draft picks from the Redskins.

Ashley Lelie makes a acrobatic catch in his first practice as a Falcon.

The trade comes of no surprise after both Lelie and Duckett expressed their discontent in the situation they were in with their respective clubs. Lelie, a former first round draft pick from Hawaii, had yet to attend training camp for the Broncos, and had already packed his bags to move to a new club after he wished to be the No. 1 wideout on the Broncos offense. His wish was not granted, and soon after he was shipped to Atlanta, where he will become the clear cut No. 3 option for Michael Vick in the conservative west coast offense behind Michael Jenkins and Roddy White. In Lelie, the Falcons get a acrobatic 6-3, 200 pound receiver who can become a threat near the goal line, however their may be some concern over Lelie’s conditioning after holdout throughout all of training camp. In his 4 year career Lelie has averaged 42 catches for 752 yards, while earning a total of 12 touchdown, only one of which came last year.
Though the Falcons may have filled a glaring hole in a potent offense, they lost a key contributor who was looked upon many times to convert on crucial situations. T.J. Duckett was shipped to the Redskins in the deal, after Duckett, much like Lelie, wanted to have a more important role in the offense. However, the Falcons were set upon Warrick Dunn being the man to get 65% of the touches, leaving Duckett, a former first round selection from Michigan State, having to settle for a reserve role for another season. The Redskins picked up Duckett after former Broncos RB Clinton Portis was injured during week 1 of the preseason.

T.J. Duckett takes his first carries as a Redskin during practice.

Though Portis should be back for the Redskins seasons opener, Duckett will provide them with much needed insurance if Portis cannot recover. In his five years experience Duckett has been mainly a goal line back having 31 career rushing touchdowns while only rushing for 2175 yards. His role in Washington will most probably be the same to what he had in Atlanta, but with more share of the ball, as Portis spends more time on the sideline than the durable Dunn.
The Broncos desperately needed to release or trade Lelie before the start of the season after being unable to get rid of him before start of training camp and preseason, and having to settle for the second option meant that thy picked up very little in a 3rd and 4th round pick from Washington.
After the trade the Falcons, having already filled their main need on offense, went out and signed 33 year old free agent DT Grady Jackson formerly of the Green Bay Packers. Jackson will replace Chad Lavalais and become the partner to Rod Coleman in the Falcons 4-3 defensive scheme. Acquiring Jackson gives the Falcons one of the best 4 front linemen in the NFL, with Patrick Kerney and John Abraham filling the ends.