FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Leonard Floyd called his mother, Chrishonda, before the news broke that he had signed with the Atlanta Falcons.
Floyd, a productive veteran edge rusher, was born in Chauncey, Georgia, and went to high school in Eastman, about 150 miles south of Atlanta. Floyd then played at the University of Georgia.
Chrishonda is a lifelong Falcons fan and remained a diehard, going to tailgates even when her son played for other teams. When Floyd told her the news he was signing with their hometown team, Chrishonda broke down in tears.
"My mom was crying," Floyd said Tuesday at his introductory news conference. "She was way more excited than me from the phone call. ... I told her, I'm like, 'Ma, you got to calm down. They ain't even put it on TV yet.'"
Floyd said signing with Atlanta was a no-brainer.
"My agent called me and said, 'Hey, the Falcons got this offer for you,' and as soon as I heard it, it was pretty much a yeah," Floyd said.
Floyd, 32, represents exactly what the Falcons needed this offseason: a potent pass rusher. He has had no fewer than 8.5 sacks in each of the last five seasons. Atlanta has not had a player with that amount of sacks since Vic Beasley had 15.5 2017. In 2024, the Falcons finished second to last in the league in sacks (31) and quarterback pressure (28.1%).
Atlanta coach Raheem Morris made it clear that improving the team's pass rush was priority No. 1 for the offseason. The Falcons have a young offensive core of quarterback Michael Penix Jr., running back Bijan Robinson and wide receiver Drake London. They needed to fix the defense this offseason.
"It starts with the people, right?" Morris said. "Obviously we get the people in place to be able to find those guys and I got so much confidence in what [general manager] Terry [Fontenot has] been able to do, building our offense, some of the young talent to run our offense, be able to get some of those things going and now really shifting the focus of some of the defensive needs that we have and being able to bring people in."
Morris is familiar with Floyd. He was the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams when Floyd played there in 2021 and 2022. The two won Super Bowl LVI together. Floyd had a sack and five tackles in that game against the Cincinnati Bengals. In three years with the Rams, Floyd averaged 9.7 sacks per season.
Floyd said Morris is more like a "brother" to him than a coach and his presence played heavily into Floyd signing with the Falcons.
"I had some of my best plays out there playing in L.A. with him," Floyd said. "I won a ring with him in L.A., so yeah, by far he's one of the best [coaches] I had." Floyd, who most recently played for the San Francisco 49ers, has 66.5 career sacks. He is a pass-rush specialist, someone who focuses his training on that practice primarily. Floyd referred to himself as a "smoking gun." When third-and-long comes up, he said, watch out. "Time to get the quarterback," Floyd said. "That's why I show up, you know what I'm saying? That's what I'm here for."
Those words will be music to the ears of Falcons fans, including Chrishonda. Floyd said he has a single aim for 2025: surpassing his personal best of 10.5 sacks in a single season, which he did twice (2020 and 2023).
"That's my goal," Floyd said. "It's always been my goal every season." And now he'll get to give it a try with his hometown team.
"It is a blessing, and I am going to go out and work hard for it, too," Floyd said. "I'm not going to let the opportunity pass me over. I know what's ahead of me and I'm ready to grab it by the horns."