The Atlanta Falcons are adding two franchise greats to one of the organization’s most exclusive groups.
The Falcons announced John Abraham and the late Bill Fralic will become the 15th and 16th members of the team’s Ring of Honor, recognizing two players who left their marks on the franchise in very different ways.
Abraham will be honored during Atlanta’s Week 5 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, while Fralic will be inducted when the Falcons host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 16.
For Abraham, the honor recognizes one of the most dominant pass rushers ever to wear a Falcons uniform.
After spending his first six NFL seasons with the New York Jets, Abraham arrived in Atlanta following the 2005 season through a three-team trade. The move paid off in a major way.
Nicknamed “The Predator” for his relentless pursuit of quarterbacks, Abraham recorded 68.5 sacks in 102 games over seven seasons with Atlanta. He posted double-digit sacks four times during his Falcons career and helped Atlanta reach the postseason four times, including three consecutive playoff appearances from 2010-12 — a first in franchise history.
While Pro Football Hall of Famer Claude Humphrey is recognized as Atlanta’s all-time leader with 99.5 sacks, his career came before sacks became an official NFL statistic in 1982. That leaves Abraham as the Falcons’ official sack leader in the NFL record book.
But getting to the quarterback was only part of what made Abraham dangerous.
He forced 25 fumbles during his Falcons tenure, including 19 strip sacks. Three of those strip sacks resulted in defensive touchdowns. Since 2000, Abraham’s 115 quarterback hits with Atlanta rank second in franchise history behind Grady Jarrett’s 126.
Abraham earned First-Team All-Pro honors in 2010, Second-Team All-Pro honors in 2008 and a Pro Bowl selection in 2010 during his time in Atlanta.
He finished his 15-year NFL career with 133.5 sacks, three All-Pro selections and five Pro Bowl appearances, cementing his place among the premier pass rushers of his generation.
While Abraham terrorized quarterbacks, Fralic built his Falcons legacy in the trenches.
Atlanta selected the former University of Pittsburgh standout with the No. 2 overall pick in the 1985 NFL Draft. Fralic entered the league as one of the most accomplished offensive linemen in college football, earning three All-American selections and becoming the first offensive lineman to twice finish in the top 10 of Heisman Trophy voting.
His physical style at Pittsburgh even helped inspire the term “pancake block,” describing an offensive lineman putting a defender on his back.
That dominance followed him to Atlanta.
Fralic started 14 games as a rookie and finished third in Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year voting. He followed his debut season with three consecutive All-Pro selections, earning first-team honors in 1986 and 1987 and second-team honors in 1988.
He was also selected to four consecutive Pro Bowls.
Fralic spent eight of his nine NFL seasons with the Falcons, starting 115 of his 116 games with Atlanta. His dominance earned him a spot on the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-1980s Team.
His impact wasn’t limited to football. Fralic appeared in the 20-man Battle Royal at WrestleMania 2 in 1986 and later used his platform to speak out against steroid use in professional football, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1989.
Following his playing career, Fralic remained connected to the Falcons as a radio analyst from 1995-97 and later worked as an analyst for his alma mater.
Fralic died in December 2018 at the age of 56 following a battle with cancer, making his Ring of Honor induction a posthumous recognition of a player who helped define an era of Falcons football.
Abraham and Fralic may have played different positions and represented different generations, but their impact on Atlanta is now permanently connected.
One hunted quarterbacks. The other made a career out of putting defenders on their backs.
Now, John Abraham and Bill Fralic will forever have their names displayed among the greatest Atlanta Falcons in franchise history.
