Falcons have limited cap space after first wave of free agency

The Falcons can free up more space fairly easily as they look to address defensive needs.

The Atlanta Falcons have been extremely active in the early days of free agency, essentially overhauling their offense in as short a timeframe as possible. That has been great news for the roster and fans who regarded last year’s offensive putridity as…well, offensive. It has been less great news for the team’s cap space.

If you ask OvertheCap, the Falcons have just a shade over $4 million in cap space at the moment. With the top 51 rule in place, Spotrac has them at about $4.8 million. Neither total is anywhere near the amount the Falcons would need to get, say, a high-end pass rusher, and even mid-tier signings will wipe that money out very quickly. This team can nibble at the edges of the defensive side of the ball with some reserves and re-signings, but anything more than that will have to wait until they free up more space.

How can they do so? There are a few avenues, including:

• Cutting or restructuring Taylor Heinicke. Heinicke is currently Kirk Cousins’ backup, and the willingness to trade Desmond Ridder away suggests he’ll stick in that role, barring the Falcons landing a rookie passer. If so, there’s no way they’re going to keep him on the roster with his current $9 million cap hit and will likely restructure the deal to give themselves as much wiggle room this year as humanly possible. If they are planning on a rookie, they may just dump him to save about $7 million. Savings: $7 million for a cut; TBD for a restructure
• Restructuring Grady Jarrett. I can’t imagine the Falcons will cut ties with their longest-tenured defensive player, especially given that he’s such a well-regarded leader of men, and so I’m not going to dwell on that possibility. The Falcons could get over $12 million in cap space if they cut him, but they’re much more likely to tinker with his contract and keep him around. That makes it more difficult to move on in the final year of his deal if they’d like to do so, but if you think Jarrett’s still going to be a high-end asset, you take the space now. Savings: TBD
• Cutting Mike Hughes. The Falcons imported Hughes to be a versatile cornerback and special teamer, and it was a very up-and-down year for the veteran. He had quality stretches at cornerback but also struggles in coverage, and his work as a returner was nightmarish stuff. The Falcons have A.J. Terrell, Clark Phillips, Dee Alford, and Savings: About $2.25 million
• Cutting Ade Ogundeji. This is another one that feels straightforward. Ogundeji has had his moments, but between injuries and fairly quiet play on the field, seems likely to be on the outside looking in for any roster spots on defense under this new staff. Chiefly a solid defender against the run and a special teamer, Ogundeji would be competing for one of the last spots on the roster if he does stay. Savings: About $3.15 million
• Cutting Avery Williams. You can only get about a million dollars doing this, but the team electing to bring in longtime returner Ray-Ray McCloud, so the writing may be on the wall for a player I like a lot. If McCloud is expected to be the returner, the Falcons may take that small bit of cap space. Savings: About $950,000
• Move on from reserve/future players. This would only happen in dire straits, because the Falcons presumably want their 90 man roster well-stocked and you’ll have to just add players down the line for about the same price. But if you’re hellbent on getting more room in the short-term, you could conceivably move on from guys like Josh Ali and John Leglue to get that little bit of extra space. Savings: About $915,000 a pop

The biggest names on the edge rusher market are already largely accounted for, while making a splash at safety in a crowded market shouldn’t be all that costly. The Falcons don’t need to do anything drastic to get to enough space to make a handful of defensive signings; restructuring Heinicke and maybe Jarrett and cutting Hughes and Ogundeji would give them real breathing room.

This is not a terrible spot to be in, because the Falcons have four picks in the first three rounds, a handful of key players locked up, and a new defensive staff that clearly feels it can replicate the success of 2023 with the Rams by going young and affordable and coaching players up. But for the Falcons to make any more real noise in free agency, the team will have to free up some cap space, whatever that may look like.