Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot became so busy over the past few weeks that he couldn’t join his lovely young family on their trip to Disney World.
All he was doing was trying to implement the team’s succession plan at quarterback by trying to land Deshaun Watson and then trying to find a new home for Matt Ryan. They whiffed on Watson on Friday and found Ryan a new home by Monday in Indianapolis with the Colts.
“I felt bad because my family was in Orlando, and they were at Disney, and I felt bad because I felt like I haven’t seen my kids in a few weeks,” Fontenot said. “I’m not making excuses; everybody works hard. But I was going to meet my family in Orlando, and I couldn’t.”
Falcons owner Arthur Blank understood, but some major NFL business was going down.
“He felt so bad. He wanted me to go, and he said, ‘Well, OK, I’ll make sure I send your family to Orlando down the road,’” Fontenot said.
Now, the franchise is set to pivot from 14 years of Ryan at the helm, which included perhaps the most glorious era in franchise history, one that included never-before-achieved back-to-back winning seasons, regular trips to the playoffs, two trips to the NFC title game and one trip to the Super Bowl.
It’s not going to be easy, as the Falcons are now set to play the 2022 season with dead salary-cap money of more than $62 million of the $208.2 million cap. But next offseason, they’ll have some more young talent and salary-cap space to help rebuild the team.
The franchise, which has been playing since 1966, has yet to win a Super Bowl.
“We obviously have a lot of work to do, and yet we’re excited about some things that we have gotten accomplished,” Fontenot said. “Our first step is always to work hard to re-sign our players. So, we were able to get some things done with getting an extension done with (left tackle) Jake Matthews that means a lot to us. Getting (kicker) Younghoe (Koo) extended, also getting (Olamide Zaccheaus) under contract for this year.”
The Falcons also signed running back/returner Cordarrelle Patterson, nickel back Isaiah Oliver, who’s coming off a season-ending knee surgery, backup guard Colby Gossett, defensive tackle Anthony Rush and safety Erik Harris.
What Fontenot didn’t like was that the Falcons lost bidding wars for their leading tackler Foye Oluokun, wide receiver Russell Gage and Pro Bowl long-snapper Josh Harris.
Ryan’s contract, which had salary-cap numbers of more than $40 million for this year and next, was an albatross if the franchise was going to move forward. In part, that explains why the Falcons took only a third-round draft choice from the Colts for the greatest player in franchise history.
“We talk about bringing back our players, and there were some players that we weren’t able to get contracts done with and that we worked hard to and went through that process,” Fontenot said. “They had better opportunities elsewhere. We wish them all the best. We try to keep everyone that we can, but in some cases we’re not able to do that.”
The Falcons concluded that they would be in the same boat next year if they retained Ryan and his contract. They tried slashing contracts and restructuring others last season.
The Falcons also went value shopping in free agency and found some help in cornerback Casey Hayward, outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter, running back Damien Williams, offensive tackle Elijah Wilkinson and defensive back Teez Tabor.
“Our pro (personnel) department is really working hard,” Fontenot said. “We still have a lot of work to do in some particular areas.”
The departure of Gage coupled with the indefinite suspension of Calvin Ridley for gambling on NFL games has left the team thin at wide receiver. Former Saints wide receiver TreQuan Smith and, reportedly, former Dolphins/Browns receiver Jarvis Landry have been in for visits.
“Obviously, (at) receiver, there’s some things we need to get accomplished prior to the draft with pro players,” Fontenot said. “We’re going to work hard to continue to do that. But I really appreciate the work that has been put in up to this point.”
While the Falcons will work their way through the final stages of free agency and scouting for the draft, they are set to start their draft meetings April 4. The draft is set for April 28-30 in Las Vegas, and the Falcons have the eighth overall pick.
“We have nine draft picks right now,” Fontenot said. “We have significant draft capital. That’s a big part of it. When you look at the cap space we’re going to have next year and look at the draft capital that we have, it’s an exciting time when we’re looking at the future.”
The Falcons passed on quarterbacks Justin Fields, from Harrison High, Georgia and Ohio State, and Mac Jones, from Alabama, last year in the draft. They selected tight end Kyle Pitts with the fourth overall pick.
The Falcons are heavily scouting the quarterbacks for the coming draft.
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper has the top quarterbacks in the draft rated low. He rated Liberty quarterback Malik Willis as the 18th best player and the top quarterback in the draft, followed by Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett.
The Falcons also scouted Mississippi’s Matt Corral on Wednesday and Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder on Thursday.
“Well, in terms of (the) Falcons, I thought about a quarterback, and (Marcus) Mariota is coming in with (Falcons coach) Arthur Smith,” Kiper said. “Pair him with a young quarterback, I get that. Is eight too high for Malik Willis?”
In addition to a strong Pro Day, Willis is personable and interviews well.
“He’s got the rocket arm,” Kiper said. “I compared him (Tuesday) to kind of a right-handed version of Michael Vick in a lot of ways. I could see that. I could definitely see Carolina at six and Atlanta at eight or Seattle at nine taking Malik Willis.”
Fontenot insists that the team will not “reach” for a quarterback because of their longtime needs. Mariota, who was a backup in Las Vegas the past two years, has been signed. He was 29-32 as a starter in Tennessee before losing his job in 2018 when Smith was his offensive coordinator.
Yes, Blank was heavily involved in the recent turn of events.
“We have a very collaborative team, from the personnel, the coaching, conversations that Terry and I have with (president) Rich McKay at times, so this is a collaborative effort here,” Smith said. “That’s probably the best way to put it for you.”
Fontenot said: “Yeah, (Blank) is so supportive. He’s so passionate. He wants to win in the worst way. Yet, he always empowers us.”
And he even springs for trips to Disney World.
