The Falcons are working feverishly to get under the NFL’s new salary cap of $182.5 million by the league deadline of 4 p.m. Wednesday, the start of the new business year.
After cutting veterans Ricardo Allen, Allen Bailey and James Carpenter, the Falcons will turn their attention to restructuring contracts and perhaps to granting contract extensions to create the additional space.
The Falcons are $14.2 million over the cap, according to NFLPA documents as of Thursday evening.
Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot did not want to discuss the team’s direction in free agency when he most recently met with the media.
“Those are going to be internal discussions,” Fontenot said.
Since then, strong safety Keanu Neal did not receive the franchise tag and is therefore headed to free agency. Free safety Damontae Kazee’s agent told the AJC that he was moving on. Center Alex Mack is weighing his options, which possibly include retirement.
On Thursday, the Falcons signed four of five exclusive-rights free agents in Pro Bowl kicker Younghoe Koo, defensive end Jacob Tuioti-Mariner, cornerback Tyler Hall and wide receiver Christian Blake. Tight end Jaeden Graham was not signed with the group.
The Falcons, who have only 43 players under contract, have a lengthy list of players headed to free agency.
In addition to Neal, Kazee and Mack, the Falcons other pending unrestricted free agents are cornerback Darqueze Dennard, running back Todd Gurley, defensive end Charles Harris, running back Brian Hill, offensive lineman Justin McCray, defensive end Steven Means, free safety Sharrod Neasman, linebacker LaRoy Reynolds, linebacker Edmond Robinson, tight end Luke Stocker, wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, offensive tackle John Wetzel and cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson.
A player with three accrued years (at least six games) of service is a restricted free agent. The Falcons’ RFAs are guard Matt Gono and wide receiver Brandon Powell.
The team can place three levels of tenders on these players for a non-guaranteed one-year deal. Other teams can sign an RFA to an offer sheet, with the current team having a chance to match, or a team can allow the player to leave and receive draft compensation based on the tender level.
“First, we are going to communicate directly with the player, directly with the agents,” Fontenot said. “We want that to come from them first. We are having all those discussions about all of those players, but that’s not something that we want to discuss.”
With free agency a few days away, the Falcons appear content just to get under the cap, create enough space to go “value” shopping and then start getting ready for the draft.
The Falcons will not be a major player in the pass-rush market.
Tampa Bay edge rusher Shaquil Barrett is the top free agent at the spot, according to the Pro Football Focus list of the top 200 free agents.
Barrett was signed by Tampa Bay to a one-year, $4 million contract in 2019. He went on to break the team record with 19.5 sacks. He played last season on the franchise tag, which was worth $15.8 million. He’s projected to sign a four-year, $68 million deal in free agency.
The Falcons can’t even pick up the phone and call his agent.
The next rated pass rushers are Jadeveon Clowney, Yannick Ngakoue, Bud Dupree, former Georgia standout Leonard Floyd and Trey Hendrickson, who was drafted by the Saints when Fontenot was with the franchise.
For teams with money, Falcons coach Arthur Smith said that the start of free agency will seem like a signing day in college football. The legal tampering period starts Monday. That’s when teams can start negotiating with agents.
“(We are) trying to get good value for guys that are out there and that fit what (we) want to do and they fit character-wise,” Smith said.
The Falcons were big on the locker-room culture and character under former general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coaches Mike Smith and Dan Quinn.
There were some missteps in free agency with players who didn’t fit the culture and were promptly released, such as defensive end Ray Edwards and guard Jamon Brown.
The Falcons were confident that Dante Fowler would fit when he signed last offseason because he played for Quinn in college at Florida. He was a model citizen, but injuries slowed him as he tried to play on a high ankle sprain and then suffered a hamstring injury.
Smith plans to be careful who he brings in through free agency.
“There is always an issue in free agency, if you haven’t worked with somebody or someone on your staff hasn’t worked with him, there is a lot of unknowns,” Smith said. “So, you want to make sure you’ve done your homework and you know exactly what kind of player, what kind of person you’re bringing in here.”
Former Titans tight end Delanie Walker, who wants to continue his career, has been linked to the Falcons. Also, Titans tight end Jonnu Smith, is a free agent. He has averaged 6.8 yards after the catch per reception over his career.
The Falcons will look at the low end of the free-agent edge-rusher list and hope that they find a player ready to blossom as Barrett did in Tampa. Kerry Hyder, Samson Ebukam and former Georgia standout Jordan Jenkins are free agents.
Hyder has been with four teams, but had 8.5 sacks with the 49ers last season. Ebukam started 35 games with the Rams over the past four seasons and has 14.5 career sacks. Jenkins has played in 72 games and made 62 starts for the Jets. He has 22.5 career sacks.
While waiting for free agency to start, the Falcons’ scouts are out in full force on the Pro Day circuit. Fontenot has ordered the scouts to leave no stones unturned.
“We really value Pro Days,” Fontenot said.
Because a lot of the prospects are working out around the county at various gyms in the mornings, the Falcons have been on Zoom calls with prospects well into the late evenings.
“The access, obviously, is going to be different when you factor in COVID-19 and what we are dealing with there,” Fontenot said. “That in-person (visit), getting to see those players in person is critical. Especially this year, when you think about it, some of these players we haven’t seen on the grass this entire season.”
Once free agency starts, the next big date of the calendar for the Falcons is April 5, which is when they can start the offseason program because they have a first-year coach. The teams without new coaches can start April 19.
Happy value shopping!
Falcons’ 2021 draft position: Here are the picks in D. Led’s Mock Draft 2.0: Top five picks
1. Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence (QB, Clemson)
2. New York Jets: Justin Fields, (QB, Ohio State)
3. Miami Dolphins: Ja’Marr Chase (WR, LSU)
4. Falcons: Kyle Pitts (TE, Florida)
5. Cincinnati Bengals: Penei Sewell, (OT, Oregon)
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