CHARLOTTE, N.C. – After spending their first two offseasons shopping at Goodwill, Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot and coach Arthur Smith will have enough cash to go to Phipps Plaza in 2023.
The Falcons are projected to have $74.3 million in salary-cap space next season.
The Falcons have 34 players under contract, at $158.9 million, for 2023. With the salary cap projected to increase from $208.9 million to $233.2 million, there will be plenty of room to retain the players they like on the current roster, and they’ll be able to pursue talented high-priced free agents.
Before they go to the open market, the Falcons have several internal issues to address, including re-signing some of their veterans.
A decision must be made on whether to move forward with veteran linebackers Rashaan Evans and Lorenzo Carter, who both signed one-year contracts.
Before facing the Panthers on Thursday night, Evans led the Falcons in tackles, with 85. He took over the signal-calling duties when Mykal Walker was out with a groin injury. Evans, a former first-round pick by Tennessee, has a hard-hitting style that has been infectious.
Carter, a former Georgia standout from Norcross High, has scored two touchdowns and has helped to stabilize the outside linebacker position.
One of the Falcons’ major priorities will be to sign right guard Chris Lindstrom to contract extension.
Also, right tackle Kaleb McGary, who didn’t have his fifth-year option picked up, is set to become a free agent. However, he beat out all challengers and has been a better fit in the Falcons’ run-heavy offense. He has allowed three sacks.
Those are only some of the decisions, and those players have been key over the first nine games of the season.
“I’ve got my theories, but I don’t want to sit there and sound like I’m trying to pat myself or pat all of us on the back,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said about the buy-in from the players. “We’ve just got a lot of good guys. We’ve got a stable situation and hopefully we can continue on this path.”
Smith said that he’s pleased with the culture of the team. That will be important with regard to who is re-signed and who is pursued in free agency.
Baltimore likely will re-sign or place the franchise tag on quarterback Lamar Jackson. Browns running back Kareem Hunt, Browns offensive tackle Jack Conklin and Ravens defensive end Yannick Ngakoue are some of the big-name potential free agents.
If they don’t fit the Falcons’ culture, they likely will not be pursued.
“It’s something that we work on every day,” Smith said. “A lot of people – you can put it on a slogan or chirp to (the media) about it – but if you’re not implementing that day after day, that’s the hardest part. It’s like anything in life. Can you implement it every day? It’s not going to be perfect. Can you persevere? Can you be consistent?”
The buy-in that Smith has from this current group of players is something that he wants to replicate moving forward.
“Those things, whatever your belief is,” Smith said. “There are a lot of ways to do it. It works for some places and might not work for others. A lot of times what happens is the day-to-day grind and lack of endurance people have sometimes, you think, ‘Hey, it worked for you early, it’s good. I checked that box.’ No, it’s something every damn day you have to work on.”
The Falcons have carefully studied the organizations that they were in before coming to Flowery Branch.
“Some places and organizations you study, whether it’s in other spots or other lines of business,” Smith said. “Some of the experiences, you learn about what not to do. If you ever get a shot, (you) sure as hell won’t do that. Then, you take it all into account.”
The resiliency and ability to deal with hardships is important to Smith. He believes it can be innate or taught.
“If you want to be a physical team, you’re going to look for physical players,” Smith said. “I’m not a doctor. I can’t do a heart transplant. You try to find the right people, and you try to foster the right climate and get the right type of guys, but it’s both. If somebody doesn’t want to do it that way, you’re probably not changing.”
The Falcons players, no matter what their contract situation is, will have to band together over the final seven games.
“There’s a lot that goes into it. There are things that you look for, not only on tape, but when you’re doing all of the evaluations and interviews,” Smith said. “It’s a long, thorough process. Again, you’re not going to be right every time. You try to minimize your risk, and that’s something, like I said, that you have to work on every day as a collective group, too.”
Some of the other potential veteran free agents include wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, cornerback Isaiah Oliver, punter Bradley Pinion, guard Colby Gossett, fullback Keith Smith and guard Elijah Wilkinson.
In all, the Falcons have 28 players who are set to become free agents.
After playing this season with $77.4 million in dead salary-cap space, the Falcons can go luxury shopping.
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Atlanta Falcons 2022 schedule
Sept. 11: Saints 27, Falcons 26
Sept. 18: Rams 31, Falcons 27
Sept. 25 Falcons 27, Seahawks 23
Oct. 2 Falcons 23, Browns 20
Oct. 9 Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15
Oct. 16 Falcons 28, 49ers 14
Oct. 23 Bengals 35, Falcons 17
Oct. 30 Falcons 37, Panthers 34 OT
Nov. 6 Chargers 20, Falcons 17
Nov. 10 at Carolina, 8:15 p.m.
Nov. 20 vs. Chicago, 1 p.m.
Nov. 27 at Washington, 1 p.m.
Dec. 4 vs. Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
BYE WEEK
Dec. 18 at New Orleans, TBD
Dec. 24 at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Jan. 1 vs. Arizona, 1 p.m.
Jan. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, TBD
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