ATLANTA -- Having surrendered 64 sacks in 2001, the Atlanta Falcons went into the offseason seeking to address their deficiencies on the offensive line.

Thhe team felt it took a step in that direction on Wednesday, reaching a contract agreement with right tackle Todd Weiner.

Weiner, 26, will sign a five-year contract worth $17.5 million and it includes a signing bonus of $5.5 million.

The base salaries are $800,000 (2002), $1.6 million (2003), $2.4 million (2004), $2.7 million (2005) and $3 million (2006). There are roster bonuses of $500,000 each for the 2004-2006 seasons.

One of the early hot commodities in unrestricted free agency, despite having started only 20 games in four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, the former Kansas State player also visited with the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday. But after meeting with Atlanta officials over the weekend, and dining with new owner Arthur Blank, it seemed Weiner had already made up his mind on where he would continue his career.

Weiner turned down a similar deal from the New Orleans Saints.

The right tackle position has been a big problem area for the Falcons since the play of Ephraim Salaam began to decline after the team's 1998 Super Bowl season. Team officials feel that, even though Weiner hasn't started much in the league, he will solve the inconsistencies.

It certainly appears the Falcons overpaid to land Weiner, but he fits into the mold offensive line coach Pete Mangurian prefers, a smaller and quicker player with movement skills. Weiner can be knocked off the line by some of the stronger left ends in the NFL and, at 6-feet-4 and 300 pounds, is hardly the prototype right tackle.

Until last season, when he replaced the injured Chris McIntosh and surprised Seattle coaches with his steady play, Weiner had been regarded as an underachiever. He started just six games during his first three seasons and was forced to play on special teams.

Weiner was chosen by the Seahawks in the second round of the 1998 draft.

The Falcons are also working hard to sign former New York Giants guard Ron Stone, who visited with team officials on Monday, and the former Pro Bowl performer would add veteran leadership to a relatively young blocking unit.

The Falcons also signed free safety Keion Carpenter on Wednesday.Carpenter started 22 games at free safety over the last two seasons with the Buffalo Bills and replaces Ronnie Bradford, who was released at the end of the season.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Information from SportsTicker was used in this report.