Offensive lineman Matt Gono, who missed all of last season with an undisclosed injury, is healthy and free to sign with any team after he was released by the Falcons on Friday.
Gono, 25, who appeared in training camp with a neck brace, was on the physically-unable-to-perform list for the entire season. He is fully healthy, according to his agent. He has recovered from shoulder surgery, according to league-owned NFL media.
The release of Gono, who’s 6-foot-4 and 304 pounds and was set to become an unrestricted free agent when free agency begins in mid-March, is a little bizarre because the offensive line is perhaps the Falcons’ weakest unit and the team, in dire need of lineman, signed Gono to a $3.284 million restricted free-agent tender in March.
“Matt obviously, we expected Matt to come back at some point in the year with that injury,” Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said recently of Gono’s time on the PUP list. “That’s why we handled the transaction the way we did, and that didn’t work out.”
Gono played in all 16 games in 2020 and made four starts. He played 337 offensive snaps. He also played 80 snaps on special teams. He was considered a contender for the right tackle and left guard spots last season.
Gono was signed as an undrafted player out of Wesley (Del.) in 2018.
The Falcons’ offensive line allowed 40 sacks of Matt Ryan for the fourth consecutive season and the offense ranked 31st in rushing yards per game (85.4).
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