The Atlanta Falcons just announced they have re-signed defensive end Kroy Biermann, which may be more significant than it sounds.

This could be a sign that veteran John Abraham won’t be returning. Although no one is going to confuse Biermann with a guy that can step in and give the Falcons double-digit sacks in most seasons, like Abraham has, this could be a piece of Atlanta’s future pass rush.

Let’s face it, Abraham has made noise about wanting $12 million a season. That’s way too much to pay a player at his age. The Falcons already have a pile of money tied up in defensive end Ray Edwards and they probably just gave Biermann a nice chunk of change (we don’t know his contract details yet).

But keeping Biermann at least gives the Falcons a decent third defensive end for their rotation. Could he move into a starting role? Perhaps, but I suspect the Falcons will go out and bring in another pass-rusher.

It could be a big-time free agent like Mario Williams. Or it could be a rookie, but the Falcons don’t have a first-round pick at the moment.

What they do have at the moment is Biermann, Edwards and even reserve Lawrence Sidbury. They probably won’t have Abraham, but they’ve got a start at defensive end and they’ll probably finish it with something bigger.