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It was a very busy Tuesday night in Atlanta.

First the team traded former first round pick T.J. Duckett to Washington and received wide receiver Ashley Lelie from Denver in a three-team swap. Then shortly after the trade, Atlanta essentially locked up big, space-eating defensive tackle Grady Jackson ESPN.com is reporting.

The deal is contingent on Jackson passing a physical on Wednesday, but if there are no problems with the former Green Bay Packers’ health, the Falcons just dramatically improved their run defense.

Even at this late stage of his career, Jackson remains an interior defender capable of clogging things up in the middle and of playing effectively against the run. He often commands double-team blocking because of his size and strength, and that allows teammates to flow more readily to the ball. His stamina appeared to be much improved in 2005, and his 16 starts were his most since the 2001 season.

With injuries plaguing linebacker Ed Hartwell and defensive end Brady Smith last year, Atlanta couldn’t stop opponents from running down its throat. The defense finished 26th in the NFL in total rushing yards allowed (2,063) and total rushing yards allowed per game (128.9).

The addition of John Abraham over the offseason gave the Falcons yet another pass rusher to the defensive line, but failed to address the run defense. Chad Lavalais started last year at the tackle position opposite Rod Coleman, but he has quickly fallen out of favor in Atlanta.

With Hartwell returning from season-ending knee surgery and the addition of Jackson, Atlanta hopes it finally has the pieces in place to stop the run.

After being pounded by the Packers on Saturday night, head coach Jim Mora pleaded with team officials to get him a No. 3 wide out and a big defensive tackle to plug up the middle of the defensive line.

Well, the genie popped out of the magic lantern, because Mora got Lelie and Jackson virtually in one hour last night.

In a big twist of irony, running back T.J. Duckett was dealt to the Washington Redskins on Tuesday while disgruntled wide receiver Ashley Lelie will end up playing in Atlanta this season according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

In exchange for Duckett, 25, the Redskins sent a third- or fourth-round pick to Denver, who, in turn, shipped Lelie, 26, to the Falcons.

As for Duckett, he could finally get the chance to be a featured back — for a few weeks. Redskins’ tailback Clinton Portis is out with a shoulder injury but is not expected to be out for the entire season.

The irony of the situation is that Duckett and Lelie were both apart of the same 2002 draft in which many analysts and talking media heads thought that the Lelie was a guarantee to land in Atlanta that season. The opposite obviously happened, but now here we are just five seasons later and Lelie winds up in Atlanta anyway.

This doesn’t surprise me that Duckett was traded since that rumor mill has been spinning since the draft. The surprise comes that he is going to Washington, where the Redskins already have a number one back in Portis.

The move is obviously clear that nobody in the Redskins’ brass knows when exactly Portis is going to return from the shoulder injury he suffered a week ago and maybe the shoulder is worse than what they’re letting on. This is a move in effort to win now.

The Falcons needed a third wide receiver bad with Brian Finneran suffering a season ending knee injury in training camp. The move was apparent after the 38-10 drubbing that the team took in Green Bay this past weekend, considering veteran Jerome Pathon looked nothing close to a reliable option.

The real question becomes what are the future plans? Both players are still unrestricted free agents at the end of the year. I can’t see both of them signing for the teams they’re with now if they both want to be number one’s at their respected positions.

Kevan Barlow passed the Jets’ physical and is now practicing with the team. Look for him to get ample opportunity to win the job…Cedric Benson and Thomas Jones rejoined practice. This was to be one of the more heated running back battles this preseason, but injuries to both players have pushed this competition back, leaving fantasy owners scratching their heads on draft days around the country. Jones had a terrific year in 2005, but the team seems committed to giving Benson a shot to win the job…Dallas owner Jerry Jones said that Terrell Owens may have another MRI on his hamstring to see why the recovery is taking so long…Steve Smith continues to be held out of Panthers’ practices with his sore hammy, but the team seems confident that he’ll be able to start the season…Hines Ward returned to the field after sitting out several practices with a – you guessed it – sore hamstring. He felt a little twinge and sat out the rest of the day, but the team called the move precautionary…Clinton Portis has started rehab on his injured shoulder and the indications are that he’ll be able to start Week 1…KC guard Will Shields suffered a high ankle sprain in Thursday’s preseason game. High ankle sprains are notoriously slow to heal so this could affect his availability in the coming weeks. This is yet another blow to the KC offensive line; Larry Johnson owners cannot be happy about how this preseason has gone…LaDainian Tomlinson is likely to sit out the final two preseason games. There appears to be nothing physically wrong with him, but the team wants to avoid any potential injuries heading into the season. Tomlinson is a veteran, but it would be nice to see him get some game reps with new QB Phillip Rivers.