Falcons’ free agents: Who should stay and who should go?
The Falcons are interviewing candidates for the general manager position.
The first order of the business for the new general manager will be to determine which players to keep and which ones to allow to become unrestricted free agents in March.
Linebacker Kaden Elliss was signed as a free agent to a three-year, $21.5 million deal in 2023. Elliss has played for three defensive coordinators in Ryan Nielsen, Jimmy Lake and Jeff Ulbrich. In his time with the Falcons, he emerged as one of the leaders of the defense.
Elliss was used as a chess piece as he was moved around the defense. He led the Falcons with 107 tackles and had 10 tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hits, six passes defended, 3½ sacks and an interception last season.
“I’m open-minded, but we love it here in Atlanta,” Elliss told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We love this team. We love these coaches, these players. I love what we’ve built here. I would obviously love to be back.”
Elliss, the son of former NFL standout Luther Elliss, has two brothers playing in the league, one with the Patriots (Christian) and one with the Broncos (Jonah).
“God’s got a plan,” Elliss said. “I’m just excited to see what he does with it.”
Elliss, who was a seventh-round NFL draft pick (244th overall) in 2019 out of Idaho, was a reserve over his first four seasons with the Saints. He became a starter after signing with the Falcons and found his path in the league.
He finished second on the team with 122 tackles in 2023. He led the team in tackles with 150 in 2024.
Ulbrich is returning to be a part of coach Kevin Stefanski’s staff.
“Obviously, coming here with Nielsen, really thankful for him brining me here,” Elliss said. “That’s my dude. He’s an awesome coordinator. Getting to play for him was special. Our defense was special that year (2023). Getting to come here and kind of be the guy. It was a lot of fun.”
Former Falcons coach Arthur Smith was fired after the 2023 season and Raheem Morris was hired. He brought in Lake as the coordinator.
“His creativity was absolutely amazing,” Elliss said. “He cut me loose more than anybody else that I’ve ever been with. I love the opportunity to play for him and make a lot of plays for him.”
Lake was fired after one season.
“Then obviously to play for Brick (Ulbrich) this year, one of the most passionate coaches that I ever played for,” Elliss said. “Just an amazing job of blending some creativity with staying within the confines of the defense. He does a really good job with that.”
Elliss was allowed to blitz and was a part of the Falcons’ franchise record-setting 57 sacks.
“Creatively finding ways for guys to do the same thing over and over again,” Elliss said. “I loved getting to come here and play for these guys. Played for Arthur Smith and Raheem. It’s been a really special time. We’ll see what the future holds.”
In addition to Elliss, the Falcons’ key potential unrestricted free agents include tight end Kyle Pitts and running back Tyler Allgeier.
Pitts caught a career-high 88 passes last season and had a career-high catch percentage of 74.6%, as he caught 88 of his 118 targets.
“God,” Pitts told the AJC about the catch-percentage increase. “He had a plan, and it’s just going out there and letting the ball find you.”
Pitts has stated he wants to return to the Falcons.
Allgeier, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards as a rookie, has served as Bijan Robinson’s backup for the past three seasons.
Here’s a look at free-agent class with a recommendation of who should stay or go:
Dee Alford, CB: Stepped in at nickel back after Billy Bowman Jr. went down. He finished with 64 tackles, two sacks, three interceptions, 13 passes defended and three quarterback hits. Has a market value of $5.8 million per Spotrac.com. Decision: Stay
Tyler Allgeier, RB: The Falcons will want to keep him, but the market will be too high for a backup running back. Some team will view Allgeier as a No. 1 running back on the open market. His value is projected at $1.8 million. Decision: Go.
Troy Andersen, LB: He played in 17 games as a rookie but hasn’t been able to complete a season since. He missed all of 2025, as he has been injury-prone. Decision: Go
Arnold Ebiketie, Edge: He played in 17 games and made three starts as a quality backup in a rotational role. He had 36 tackles, five tackles for loss and two sacks. He played 384 defensive snaps (35%) while rookie James Pearce Jr. was learning his way. His projected market value is $9 million. Decision. Go
Kaden Elliss, LB: He led the team in tackles over the past two seasons. He has played for three defensive coordinators. He may have played himself into a bigger deal. His market value is $8.9 million. Decision: Stay
Leonard Floyd, Edge: Provided a veteran presence and went about his business. He’s had a good career. His market value is $8.9 million. Decision: Go
Feleipe Franks, TE: Was signed to help the special teams, and that didn’t work out too well. He was second on the team with 11 special-teams tackles. He played short-yardage quarterback as he had two carries for 4 yards. Decision: Go
DeAngelo Malone, LB: Key special-teams player who suffered a broken ankle in the loss to the Colts in Berlin. The Falcons need to upgrade the special-teams units. Decision: Stay
David Onyemata, DL: He’s set to turn 34 in November, and the Falcons need to get bigger on the front line in order to stop the run better. His market value is $8.3 million. Decision: Go
Bradley Pinion, P: He averaged 40.6 yards net on 64 punts. He placed 34 punts inside the 20-yard line. Had some placement issues with the new dynamic kickoff before giving way to Zane Gonzalez late in the season. Decision: Stay
Kyle Pitts, TE: Is coming off his most complete season. Made some tough catches in traffic. If the two sides can’t work out a contract extension, then the team has the option to place the franchise tag on Pitts and ask him to duplicate his performance of this season. His market value is $14.6 million. Decision: Stay
Teagan Quitoriano, TE: He was a blocking tight end and did not provide much energy in the run game. Decision: Go
Kentavius Street, DL: He was a quality backup on the interior of the defense. He played in seven games last season. Decision: Stay
Elijah Wilkinson, OL: Started all 17 games at right tackle for Kaleb McGary. He played 1,096 snaps and had a 62.9 grade by Pro Football Focus, which ranked 57th of 89 right tackles. He had a 61 grade in the run game and 68.3 in pass protection. He had 12 penalties, six sacks allowed and nine quarterback hits allowed. His market value is $1.7 million. Decision: Stay
Josh Woods, LB: He ranked second on the team with 11 special-teams tackles. Decision: Stay
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
