Buckley, 29, signed a one-year, $550,000 contract. It includes a $50,000 signing bonus, a base salary of $475,000 and a $25,000 workout bonus, agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed. The contract also includes potential playing time incentives of $100,000.

A seven-year veteran, Buckley will add experience to a Falcons linebacker group which lost its top reserve when four-year veteran Craig Sauer signed with the Minnesota Vikings last week as an unrestricted free agent. Buckley also brings versatility and the willingness to play on special teams units.

Selected by the Giants in the third round of the 1993 draft, he spent his entire career in New York before his release last month. That stint included playing the first four years of his career under current Falcons head coach Dan Reeves, who held the same position with the Giants 1993-96. His linebackers coach in New York, Dan Blackmon, is now with the Falcons.

In seven years, Buckley has played in 101 games, with 25 starts. He has 137 tackles, 1½ sacks, one fumble forced and three recovered, one interception and six passes defensed. His best season came in 1998, when he started 12 games and totaled 47 tackles.