1. The no-spin zone: The Twitterverse went into full meltdown Tuesday with the news that the Falcons would not pursue Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Last season, the Falcons attempted to sign Deshaun Watson, who was embroiled in a messy sexual-misconduct case that led to an 11-game suspension and a $5 million fine. The Falcons were front-runners for their former ball boy from Gainesville but didn’t want to match the five-year, $230 million guaranteed contract that Cleveland gave Watson.
The Ravens and the rest of the league apparently don’t want to top the Watson deal. AJC columnist Michael Cunningham is not happy with this. He wants the Falcons to go “all-in” to get Jackson to the ATL.
Jackson received the non-exclusive franchise tag by the Ravens on Tuesday. That designation allows teams to negotiate with Jackson, who for some ridiculous reason doesn’t have an agent. He’s been assisted by the NFLPA.
Jackson reportedly wants a deal with more guaranteed money than Watson received. He’s a former league MVP with a 46-15 regular-season record. There’s also the 1-3 record in the postseason.
With Derek Carr signing a four-year, $150 million deal with the Saints, Daniel Jones signing a four-year, $160 million deal to stay with the Giants and Geno Smith signing a three-year, $105 million deal, the veteran starting-quarterback market is drying up.
Tom Brady is staying retired. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers reportedly is meeting with the Jets. Jimmy Garoppolo is the next best option after Jackson.
So, all of this sobering news about the veterans causes us to pivot to the 2023 NFL draft class.
The Falcons heavily scouted the quarterback class at the NFL combine. They had formal interviews with C.J. Stroud, Will Levis and Anthony Richardson. They probably must move up in the draft to pick one of those quarterbacks.
Also, the Panthers are trying to move up to land one of the quarterbacks.
Over the past two drafts, the new administration passed on Justin Fields, Mac Jones and Kenny Pickett. None have set the league on fire but have shown flashes of being legitimate NFL quarterbacks.
Quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance were taken before the Falcons picked Kyle Pitts with the fourth pick in the 2021 draft. Lawrence guided the Jaguars to the playoffs last season. Wilson has been a bust in New York, and Lance has been hurt for most of two seasons.
After passing on Pickett last year, the Falcons selected Desmond Ridder in the third round (74th overall). He started four games and went 2-2 last season.
The franchise – Arthur Blank, Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith – has been given multiple chances to declare Ridder its quarterback of the future but has not done so. Right now, it looks like the Falcons are ready to ride with Ridder or at least have him beat out one of the rookies in the draft.
2. Falcons free agents: Here’s a look at the Falcons’ potential unrestricted free agents:
Kaleb McGary: He was not signed to his $13.6 million fifth-year option last offseason, and he responded with his best NFL season. He helped to power the league’s third-best rushing attack but continued to struggle against elite pass rushers.
The Falcons let the 4 p.m. Tuesday deadline pass and did not place the franchise tag on McGary, which would have paid him $18.2 million. However, with the eighth overall pick in the draft, they could elect to replace him with Ohio State’s Paris Johnson Jr., Georgia’s Broderick Jones or Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski.
McGary had a grade of 86.6 by Pro Football Focus, but he gave up six sacks. He had failing grades of 54, 64.3 and 62.8 in his previous three seasons. He also gave up 13 sacks as a rookie, four in 2020 and nine in 2021.
Rashaan Evans: A former first-round pick of the Titans, Evans was a perfect replacement for Foye Oluokun. Evans wants to return, and the Falcons want him. So, it will just be a matter of working out the contract.
Olamide Zaccheaus: The dependable player was the second-leading receiver with 40 catches for 533 yards and three touchdowns.
Bradley Pinion: We’ll see if the Falcons want to invest in the special teams or try to get another punter on the cheap. Pinion had a 73.8% touchback rate on 80 kickoffs. He grossed 45.9 yards (41.2 net yards) on 62 punts.
Keith Smith: He was named to the Pro Bowl as a second alternate at fullback. Played a key role in the run game and on special teams. He wants to return, and the team wants to sign him. They just have to work out the contract.
Isaiah Oliver: If he gets to free agency, look for him to reunite with Dan Quinn (Cowboys defensive coordinator) or Raheem Morris (Rams defensive coordinator).
Erik Harris: Great locker-room guy.
Damiere Byrd: Provided a deep threat early in the season.
Germain Ifedi: He was beaten out by McGary and was the backup swing tackle.
Mike Ford: He was a key special-teams player with 361 snaps. He had seven special-teams tackles and the key block on Cordarrelle Patterson’s record-breaking TD kickoff return.
Anthony Firkser: He played in 11 games and made one start as a quality reserve.
Elijah Wilkinson: He won the starting job, but injuries got in the way. He started only nine games.
Vincent Taylor: He spent the season on injured reserve. Was expected to be the starter at nose tackle.
Beau Brinkley: With Liam McCullough re-signed, it wouldn’t make sense to have two long snappers on the 90-man roster.
KhaDarel Hodge: He played 259 special-teams snaps and was a dependable reserve at wide receiver. He led the team with nine special-teams tackles.
Nick Kwiatkoski: A quality reserve who played in nine games.
MyCole Pruitt: He came on strong and caught four touchdown passes after Pitts went down. Ridder was on the same page with Pruitt.
Jaleel Johnson: The defensive lineman provided some depth along the line.
Colby Gossett: Made a start but ended the season as the fifth guard.
Matt Dickerson: He provided some late-season depth along the defensive line.
Chuma Edoga: He made one start at guard.
Rashad Fenton: The Falcons traded a conditional seventh-round pick to the Chiefs for Fenton. He played in two games and made one start.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
3. Falcons’ free-agent targets: Here’s our early list of the top five free-agent targets for the Falcons: defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, safety Jessie Bates III, tackle Mike McGlinchey, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson and defensive end Marcus Davenport.
4. Dent, Smith news: Ran into former Falcons linebacker Akeem Dent at the NFL scouting combine.
The Douglass High grad played for the Falcons from 2011-13 after being taken in the third round after playing at Georgia. He also played for the Texans (2014-16).
He was a defensive assistant for the Texans in 2019 and 2020 and was with the Packers in 2022 in the Bill Walsh diversity coaching fellowship. He’s looking for a full-time coaching position.
Also, former Falcons pass rusher “Big” Chuck Smith, who’s been training defensive linemen and pass rushers, has landed the outside linebacker assistant coaching job with the Ravens.
Credit: KDJOHNSON@AJC.COM
Credit: KDJOHNSON@AJC.COM
5. The Pro Day circuit: Here’s a look at the upcoming Pro Days leading to the NFL draft. The SEC and ACC schools are in bold.
Thursday – Texas
Friday – Illinois
Monday – Oregon State, South Carolina
Tuesday – Clemson
March 15 – Central Michigan, Georgia, Louisiana-Lafayette, Michigan State, Minnesota, UCLA
March 16 – Georgia Tech, Tulane
March 17 – Michigan
March 20 – Bowling Green, Iowa, Syracuse
March 21 – Auburn, Iowa State, Princeton
March 22 – Alabama-Birmingham, Nebraska, Ohio State, SMU, Stanford, Virginia, Virginia Tech
March 23 – Alabama, Cincinnati, Houston, USC, Utah, Wisconsin
March 24 – Boston College, BYU, Kentucky, Missouri, Notre Dame, Old Dominion, Penn State
March 27 – Duke, Miami, North Carolina
March 28 – East Carolina, Mississippi State, North Carolina State, Shepherd, Texas A&M, Tulsa, Vanderbilt
March 29 – Arkansas, LSU, Maryland, Mississippi, North Dakota State, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh, Texas Tech, Wake Forest
March 30 – Appalachian State, Florida, Fresno State, Oklahoma, TCU, Tennessee
March 31 – Florida State, Kansas State, South Dakota State
6. Calvin Ridley does Falcons a solid: Wide receiver Calvin Ridley was reinstated Monday by the NFL after his indefinite suspension for violating the league’s gambling policy.
Just hours before the trading deadline, the Falcons traded Ridley to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 1. They will now pick up the Jaguars’ fifth-round pick in the 2023 draft. It would have been a sixth-round pick if he had not been reinstated.
7. NFL offseason calendar: Next up is the legal tampering period, which starts Monday.
Here’s a look at the NFL’s offseason calendar:
March 13-15 – Legal tampering period. Teams are allowed to contact and enter into negotiations with certified agents of players selected to become unrestricted free agents.
March 15 – Georgia’s Pro Day
March 15 – 4 p.m., the new league year and free agency begins
March 16 – Georgia Tech’s Pro Day
March 26-29 – League meeting in Phoenix
April 17 – Falcons may begin their offseason workout program.
April 19 – Deadline for Falcons to time, test, visit, interview or conduct a physical examination with draft-eligible player at their facility
April 21 – Deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets
April 27 – Deadline for clubs to time, test, visit, interview (including video and phone calls) or conduct a physical examination with a draft-eligible player at any location
April 27-29 – NFL draft, Kansas City, Missouri
May 1 – Deadline for clubs to exercise fifth-year options for players selected in the first round of the 2020 draft
May 15 – Rookie development programs can begin.
May 22-24 – Spring league meeting
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter/AJC
8. Falcons’ position-by-position analysis: Here’s our position-by-position look at the how the Falcons performed during their 7-10 season in 2022.
Part 1: Running backs
Part 2: Quarterbacks
Part 3: Wide receivers/tight ends
Part 4: Offensive line
Part 5: Defensive line
Part 6: Linebackers
Part 7: Defensive backs
Part 8: Special teams
9. Offseason depth chart: Here’s the updated offseason depth chart with the release of quarterback Marcus Mariota and the re-signing of outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter.
The Falcons have also re-signed tight end Parker Hesse and long snapper Liam McCullough, who were exclusive-rights free agents.
Players set to be unrestricted free agents March 15 are listed in boldface, and players who ended the season on injured reserve have an asterisk:
OFFENSE
QB – Desmond Ridder, Logan Woodside, Feleipe Franks
RB – Cordarrelle Patterson, Tyler Allgeier, Avery Williams, *Caleb Huntley, B.J. Baylor
FB – Keith Smith, Clint Ratkovich
WR – Drake London, Damiere Byrd, Frank Darby, *Jared Bernhardt, Josh Ali
TE – *Kyle Pitts, Parker Hesse, MyCole Pruitt, Anthony Firkser, Feleipe Franks, *John FitzPatrick, Tucker Fisk, John Raine
LT – Jake Matthews
LG – Elijah Wilkinson, Matt Hennessy, Colby Gossett, *Chuma Edoga, *Jalen Mayfield, *Justin Shaffer, Kyle Hinton
C – Drew Dalman, Ryan Neuzil, Jonotthan Harrison
RG – Chris Lindstrom
RT – Kaleb McGary, Germain Ifedi, Tyler Vrabel
WR – Olamide Zaccheaus, KhaDarel Hodge, Ra’Shaun Henry
DEFENSE
OLB – Lorenzo Carter, DeAngelo Malone, Quinton Bell
DE – Grady Jarrett, Tim Horne, Amani Bledsoe
NT – *Ta’Quon Graham, Abdullah Anderson (RFA), Jalen Dalton, Vincent Taylor
DE – Matt Dickerson, Jaleel Johnson
OLB – Ade Ogundeji, Arnold Ebiketie, David Anenih
ILB – Rashaan Evans, Nick Kwiatkoski, Dorian Etheridge
ILB – Troy Andersen, Mykal Walker, Nate Landman
CB – A.J. Terrell, Isaiah Oliver, Mike Ford, Rashad Fenton, Dylan Mabin, Javelin Guidry
FS – Jaylinn Hawkins, Micah Abernathy, Jamal Peters
SS – Richie Grant, Erik Harris, *Jovante Moffatt
CB – *Casey Hayward, Darren Hall, Dee Alford, Cornell Armstrong, Matt Hankins, John Reid
SPECIAL TEAMS
K – Younghoe Koo
P/H – Bradley Pinion
LS – Liam McCullough, *Beau Brinkley
PR – Avery Williams
KOR – Cordarrelle Patterson or Avery Williams
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