Veteran defensive tackle Eddie Goldman, who recently signed with the Falcons, has informed the team that he plans to retire after six seasons in the NFL, the club announced Tuesday. This decision comes nearly two weeks after Atlanta announced the signing of the 28-year-old to its 90-man roster on July 6.
Goldman entered the NFL as a second-round draft choice of the Chicago Bears in 2015 after a collegiate career at Florida State where he helped the program win a national championship in 2014 and earned first-team All-ACC honors. He spent the first seven seasons of his career in Chicago, which included an opt-out year in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 81 career regular season games (73 starts), Goldman totaled 175 tackles with 21 quarterback hits and 13 sacks. The nose tackle's best season in the league came back in 2018 when he piled up 40 tackles and three sacks while starting in all 16 games for the Bears. That came after Goldman inked a four-year contract extension with the franchise worth $42 million with $25 million guaranteed.
Goldman was released by the Bears earlier this offseason back on March 14.
With Goldman out of the picture, the Falcons now have the likes of Grady Jarrett, Ta'Quon Graham, Marlon Davidson, Anthony Rush, and Vincent Taylor on the roster along the defensive line heading into camp.
