The Atlanta Falcons signed fourth round draft pick defensive end Lawrence Sidbury on Thursday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Sidbury, 6-3, 265 pounds, started in 31 of 52 career games at the University of Richmond, recording 145 tackles, 20.5 sacks and 38 tackles for loss.
His 20.5 sacks rank fourth in school history and his 11.5 quarterback takedowns in 2008 rank third on the school’s single-season records list. Sidbury helped Richmond earn the school’s first NCAA Championship in any sport with a win against Montana in the FCS title game and set a NCAA record for the most sacks in a playoff contest in that same game (four). For his efforts, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the game. The Falcons have now signed six of their eight 2009 NFL Draft selections, which include: cornerback Christopher Owens (third round), Sidbury (fourth round), cornerback William Middleton (fifth round), offensive tackle Garrett Reynolds (fifth round), linebacker Spencer Adkins (sixth round) and defensive tackle Vance Walker (seventh round).