From today until Mar. 6, NFL teams have the ability to designate franchise or transition players. While not every club will take either route, NBC Sports writer Mike Florio suggested potential tag candidates for each team. When it came to the Falcons, Florio said Atlanta using the tag would be a long shot, but if it did, the team's most viable candidate was kicker Matt Bryant.
The 42-year old is a free agent this offseason, but is a true priority for the Falcons who have not used a tag since franchising Brent Grimes in 2012. Since joining the team in 2009, Bryant has become the franchise’s all-time scoring leader -- passing Morten Anderson’s 806 points in 2016 -- and is known as one of the top kickers in the NFL.
The franchise tag for kickers this year will hover around the $5 million mark, so the Falcons are better served negotiating an extension with Bryant, who made $2.75 million last season.
Bryant notched his 1,000-point with the franchise this season on a game-winning 52-yard field goal to beat the Saints back in December. In 2017, he was a perfect 38-for-38 on extra points and 39-of-44 on field goals, including going 10-of-11 on field goal attempts over 50 yards.
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