FLOWERY BRANCH -- Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot believes that what the Falcons accomplished in free agency will help them in the draft, which is set for Thursday through Saturday.
“That’s the first part of the process in the offseason, and we want to bring in as much as you can in every phase at every position, and when you add, we always want to take the best players off the board in the draft,” Fontenot said. “When you’re adding to those positions, you’re adding competition. I think that helps going into the draft. So that’s really important. That’s something we prioritize.”
The Falcons signed long snapper Liam McCullough to a one-year contract Wednesday. He’ll compete with veteran long snapper Beau Brinkley, who signed April 4.
Heading into the draft, here’s what the Falcons have done in free agency:
Traded
Matt Ryan, QB -- to the Colts for a third-round draft pick.
Extension
Jake Matthews, LT – Three years, $55.5 million.
Retained
Younghoe Koo, PK – Five years, $24.25 million ($11.5 guaranteed).
Olamide Zaccheaus, WR – $2.4 million tender.
Erik Harris, FS – One year, $1.2 million ($1,047,500 guaranteed).
Cordarrelle Patterson, RB, WR – Two years, $10.2 million.
Isaiah Oliver, CB – One year, $2.3 million.
Colby Gossett, G – One year, $965,000.
Anthony Rush, DT – One year, $965,000.
Not retained
Foye Oluokun, LB – Three years, $45 million ($28 million guaranteed) with Jaguars.
Russell Gage, WR – Three years, $30 million with Bucs.
Josh Harris, LS – Four years, $5.6 million ($1.92 million guaranteed) with Chargers.
Hayden Hurst, TE – One year, $3.5 million ($2 million guaranteed) with Bengals.
New players
Marcus Mariota, QB – Two years, $18.7 million ($6.7 guaranteed).
Casey Hayward, CB – Two years, $11 million.
Lorenzo Carter, OLB – One year, $3.5 million ($2 million guaranteed).
Damien Williams, RB – One year, $1.62 million. Included $500,000 signing bonus.
Elijah Wilkinson, OL – One year, $1.03 million.
Teez Tabor, DB – One year, $965,000.
KhaDarel Hodge, WR – One year, $1.03 million.
Rashaan Evans, LB – One year, $1.75 million, with $500,000 guaranteed.
Beau Brinkley, LS – One year, $1.2 million, with salary-cap number of $910,000.
Damiere Byrd, WR – One year, $1.2 million, with $400,000 guaranteed.
Germain Ifedi, OT/G – One year, $1.2 million, with $1,047,500 guaranteed.
Dean Marlowe, S – One year, $1.2 million, with a signing bonus of $152,500 and $300,000 guaranteed.
Anthony Firkser, TE – One year, $1.2 million, with a signing bonus of $152,500 and $300,000 guaranteed.
Liam McCullough, LS -- One year, undisclosed.
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