Atlanta Falcons linebacker Michael Boley signed a tender offer from the team today.

Last season, Boley recorded a career-high in tackles (125) while adding three sacks, seven passes defensed and two interceptions. He led the Falcons in double-digit tackle performances while setting a career-high 17 stops at Tennessee in Week 5. Against the Indianapolis Colts seven weeks later, the three-year veteran linebacker dropped Colts quarterback Peyton Manning three times in the first half setting a franchise record.

Boley’s signing now removes him from the restricted free agent market. The Falcons placed a first round tender on the Southern Mississippi graduate at the start of free agency, which meant a club who signed him without Atlanta matching the offer would have had to give up a first-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft.