Ray Edwards described himself as the "missing piece" of the Falcons defense when he signed with the club last week. Unfortunately, Atlanta will be missing the defensive end a little longer after head coach Mike Smith acknowledged Edwards underwent knee surgery during the lockout, The Atlanta Journal-Constitutionreported on Wednesday.
The procedure -- which Smith called "minor" -- will keep Edwards out of Friday's preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins.
Edwards was inside the Falcons' team facility when Smith made the announcement, so it remains unknown when the injury occurred. Edwards has not participated in any active drills since he signed a five-year, $30 million ($11 million guaranteed) contract last week.
"So far, he's hasn't done any hitting at all," defensive line coach Ray Hamilton told the Constitution. "He's working with us during the individual period. He's looking pretty good. He's look lean, tough, athletic. The next step is to get him into some action."
The 26-year-old Edwards was a fourth-round pick by the Vikings in 2006 and ran into problems the following year, violating the league's steroid policy. He received a four-game suspension and admitted taking a workout supplement without checking to see if it was on the banned list.
Bouncing back from that mistake, Edwards had a breakout year in 2009 with 8.5 sacks as the Vikings made the playoffs. Last season, Edwards appeared in 14 games, tallying eight sacks and 37 tackles.
