The Falcons entered the offseason with no money to spend, so in order to bring in any free agents, they had to find ways to open up some cap space. We already knew one of those moves was extending left tackle Jake Matthews. That extension freed up $8.5 million in cap space. Additionally, the Falcons restructured the contracts of A.J. Terrell and Chris Lindstrom, freeing up $20 million in cap space.
In total, the Falcons created $28.5 million in cap space with these three moves, allowing them to sign their free agent class, and it also gives them an extra $12 million to work with the rest of the offseason.
$12 million isn’t enough to really make a big splash, and there doesn’t appear to be one readily available on the market right now even if the Falcons wanted to get aggressive. Terry Fontenot and company will also have to leave some space to sign their draft class.
However, some more cost-cutting measures could be on the horizon. It’s unclear whether the Falcons plan on releasing David Onyemata in the future, perhaps designating him a post-June 1st cut, which would save the team another $10 million. Atlanta could potentially receive some more cap relief if they can find a trade destination for Kirk Cousins.
Still, I wouldn’t expect any extravagant additions. The Falcons feel like a team that is prepared to take on the brunt of the mistake they made last offseason when they guaranteed Kirk Cousins $100 million. It’s almost impossible to field a Super Bowl contender with that albatross of a contract on the books. Their window to seriously compete begins in 2026, and if they’re smart, they will continue to act like it for the remainder of the offseason.
The Falcons were surprisingly quiet during the rush of NFL free agency, making a few minor moves on the defensive side of the ball but nothing that will significantly change the team’s outlook heading into the 2025 season.
Leonard Floyd was the headline signing, if you can even call him that. He’s been a more than solid pass rusher over the last half-decade for various teams and had a lot of success with Falcons head coach Raheem Morris when he was the defensive coordinator for the Rams. However, Floyd has never been a guy that can carry a team’s pass rush, which the Falcons need, and that’s not going to change as he enters his age 33 season.
Morgan Fox also adds some depth across the defensive front. Divine Deablo is an intriguing high upside play in the second level, and Mike Hughes on a three-year, $18 million contract could turn out to be a steal if he continues his play from 2024. However, after losing Grady Jarrett and Drew Dalman in free agency, it’s impossible to say conclusively the Falcons are in a better position to compete in 2025 than they were in 2024.
