Center Ryan Neuzil reached a two-year contract worth $9.5 million with the Falcons on Wednesday, according to his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Kyle Lincoln.
Neuzil is the heir apparent at his position after Drew Dalman signed with the Bears in free agency earlier this offseason.
An undrafted free agent, Neuzil started eight games last season. He started three games in 2023 for Dalman, who suffered a left high ankle sprain. He’s a left-handed center.
Neuzil, 27, played guard in college and was converted to a center by the Falcons. The Falcons signed him to their practice squad Sept. 1, 2021. He spent most of two seasons on the practice squad before he was signed to the active roster Nov. 22, 2022.
He played in nine games, mostly on special teams, in 2022.
In 2023, he was pressed into duty at center. He played all 72 offensive snaps against the Bucs on Dec. 10. He played all 52 snaps against the Panthers on Dec. 17 and all 62 snaps in the regular-season finale against the Saints on Jan. 7.
With Neuzil’s development, the Falcons are comfortable with him replacing Dalman.
Neuzil was a bigger tight end in high school at Bradenton (Fla.) Braden River High when he had an on-field run-in with Dallas Cowboys great Michael Irvin.
“We played St. Thomas Aquinas, and his son was on the team,” Neuzil recalled. “He was on the sidelines there, and Asante Samuel Jr. was guarding me on the side when I played tight end. He was just letting me have it on the sidelines. It was pretty funny.”
Irvin was telling Samuel not to get beat by that “fat guy” at tight end.
“Pretty much, I was a bigger tight end at (6-foot-2 and 240 pounds),” Neuzil said. “I was bigger than your normal-size high school tight end. He was saying don’t let this big guy get by you.”
Neuzil, who caught 26 passes for 470 yards and two touchdowns as a senior, went to Appalachian State. He added some weight to get up to 290 pounds and was moved to guard. He went on to finish his career with 44 starts at left guard.
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