Ty Sambrailo isn’t coming home.
It seems he’s found a new one in Atlanta.
The Watsonville native signed a three-year extension with the Atlanta Falcons, the team announced Tuesday morning.
The 6-foot-5, 315-pound St. Francis alumnus was set to become a free agent in March, but Atlanta did not allow the tackle to hit the open market. Terms of the deal were not released by the team, but reports around the NFL claimed the deal was in the $18 million range.
“We are excited to bring Ty back as a part of our brotherhood,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said to the Atlanta Falcons’ official website. “His versatility has proven to be one of his many strengths. We look forward to him being a valuable piece of the offensive line.”
Sambrailo played in all 16 games for the Falcons last season — his fourth in the NFL and second with Atlanta — and closed out the final four games as part of the team’s starting offensive line. The Super Bowl 50 champion played left guard and right tackle, as Atlanta finished its year with a three-game winning streak.
Back in town for his high school jersey retirement ceremony last week, Sambrailo toyed with the idea of coming back to Northern California to play for his childhood team, the San Francisco 49ers, saying: “At this point, I’m leaving it all open. That would be exciting to be close to home, but I’m kind of hoping that Atlanta will keep me around.”
Sambrailo was picked 59th overall in the 2015 draft by the Denver Broncos, but was traded to Atlanta two years later after inconsistent play. A litany of injuries, including a season-ending shoulder injury during his rookie year, robbed him of opportunities to improve his game during his time in the Mile High City.
Finally healthy, Sambrailo played in 15 games — two starts — during his first season with Atlanta, and at last was able to lock himself in the weight room during the offseason to put on the necessary bulk to duel with the best defensive linemen the NFL has to offer. He only strayed away from his training for his wedding in Napa Valley in late June — he and his wife, Alex, even postponed their honeymoon so he could get back to the Falcons’ facility and prepare for the 2018 season.
“It was worth it,” Sambrailo said last week. “I had a good summer, and I felt prepared.”
He’ll have a bit more cash to spend on his makeup honeymoon after inking his new deal.
“It’s a lot of hard work to get here. There’s been a lot of ups and downs,” Sambrailo said. “The ups are great, but the downs are just as tough. My advice for anyone would be to work hard and to be resilient. Stuff happens. You’re going to get knocked down, but it’s all about getting back up and not only matching where you were before, but surpassing it. Every time you get knocked down, you have to get up and get better.”
