Reviewing Falcons free agents in 2024

Who will stay and who will go now?

The Atlanta Falcons are set to have a fair amount of cap space in 2024, and they can easily free up more by cutting ties with a few players who don’t have particularly strong ties to the new coaching staff. They’re also not likely to sink much in the way of cap space into their impending list of free agents.

The firing of Arthur Smith ensured that many of the players he liked and relied on in both Tennessee and Atlanta will not be back, while other players were never particularly likely to return as the Falcons turn over disappointing position groups.

With Raheem Morris having hired most of his staff, now is a good time to look ahead to the free agent class of 2024 and try to handicap who might return and who might be out the door. Let’s do so now.

QB Logan Woodside: Not returning

Woodside was an Arthur Smith guy, one who overlapped with him in Tennessee and served as the team’s third quarterback throughout the 2023 season, seeing some game action at the very end of the year. With no ties to the current coaching staff and no standout traits that would suggest he should stay as the team’s third quarterback, Woodside may well join Smith in Pittsburgh.

RFA QB/TE Feleipe Franks: Not likely to return

Like Woodside, Franks had a champion in Smith who is no longer with the organization. Coming off an injury that robbed him of the 2023 season and serving as a long-term project at tight end owing to his athleticism and interesting upside, Franks will have to get healthy but may well land with Smith himself. The only thing working in his favor is that the Falcons may actually be thin at tight end post-free agency and after a potential Jonnu Smith cut; if the coaching staff thinks there’s something there, there’s a slim chance he could return, especially at an original round tender. I just don’t expect it.

RB Cordarrelle Patterson: Not returning

Dealing with injuries on a fairly regular basis and falling out of the running back rotation in 2023, Patterson will be 33 years old in March and would have to vie for limited touches in a backfield dominated by Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier. His 2021 and 2022 seasons were spectacular and fun and he’ll always be mentioned among the great Falcons free agent signings, especially versus our expectations, but I can’t see him returning to this team in 2024.

FB Keith Smith: Coin flip

If Smith returns, it’ll be because Marquice Williams loves his work on special teams and wants to keep him around, and the continuity with Williams in Atlanta likely increases the chances. Smith isn’t getting any younger, but remains a useful enough lead blocker as the team’s seldom-used fullback and a core special teamer who is always among the team leaders in special teams tackles.

WR Van Jefferson: Likely to return

Jefferson was traded away from the same Rams team Raheem Morris, Jimmy Lake, and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson are joining from, which wouldn’t seem to bode well for him. I think his familiarity with both the Falcons and some of the coaches who will be joining will be considered a plus for him, however, and the team’s putrid quarterbacking will be chalked up as a major reason he struggled so mightily in 2023.

If Jefferson can chase a WR2 or WR3 deal elsewhere, he’ll likely do so. If his market is as thin as I think it will be, I can see him back in Atlanta as WR3/WR4 for this Falcons team, serving as a familiar option for Robinson and a new quarterback to work with.

WR Scotty Miller: Coin flip

I could see the team wanting Miller around as a reserve option with real speed, and Miller was a useful player when he was actually properly utilized and thrown to in 2023. Without strong ties to the incoming coaching staff and outsized production in 2023 to fall back on, I think it’s slightly more likely they let him go and pick up someone else.

WR Mack Hollins: Not likely to return

Hollins may join the Saints and Derek Carr, given his success with the veteran quarterback in 2022. Signed to be a useful blocker and receiver, Hollins got hurt and was phased out of the offense, and I can’t see the Falcons with a new staff looking to bring him back. I do think he’s a far better player than we saw in 2023, though, so if Atlanta just wants a solid outside option who can pave the way for their ground game, perhaps Hollins comes back.

WR KhaDarel Hodge: Coin flip

A favorite of the last coaching staff, Hodge is an occasionally useful receiving option and excellent special teamer, and it’s the latter quality that might have Marquice Williams pounding the table for him. If Williams wants him back; perhaps he’s WR5. If it’s not a priority, he’ll likely head elsewhere.

TE MyCole Pruitt: Not returning

Another Arthur Smith guy, Pruitt is a quality blocking tight end despite some ups and downs there, and was a surprisingly effective red zone option for the Falcons over the past couple of seasons. I don’t think the new coaching staff will prioritize keeping him around, and he’s another option to follow Smith to

OL Ethan Greenidge, RFA: Likely to return

I think the Falcons envisioned Greenidge as a versatile super substitute along their offensive line in 2023, but an injury in the summer scuttled those plans. Given that they should be able to tender him as the original round level in 2024 for cheap and given that Dwayne Ledford remains on staff and has already worked with him, I’d fully expect the Falcons to bring him back to fill that role this year.

OL Matt Hennessy: Not likely to return

Raheem Morris knows him, which might be a point in his favor, but I can’t see the Falcons bringing Hennessy back. Injury has been an unfortunate piece of the puzzle for Hennessy the past two seasons, limiting the work he’s been able to do as a fill-in starter,

ERFA OL Ryan Neuzil: Will return

A Dwayne Ledford favorite, Neuzil can credibly play both center and guard like Hennessy but has been healthy and available far more often than the more veteran player. The work he did as a fill-in in 2023 and that versatility, plus the extremely affordable price tag for an exclusive rights free agent, means Neuzil will be back and will serve as a reserve on this Falcons offensive line in 2024.

DL Calais Campbell: Not likely to return

The Falcons will at least have to ask about bringing back Campbell, who is a great leader and still a fantastic player, but Raheem Morris is fresh off a season where much of his defensive front was young and affordable and he was tasked with maximizing that. Campbell may get a better offer elsewhere.

DT Albert Huggins, RFA: Not likely to return

Ryan Nielsen is gone and he was clearly a big fan of Huggins, so I think the chances of the team non-tendering him and Huggins landing in Jacksonville would have to be pretty high. Huggins did not do enough—though he was perfectly solid—to expect otherwise.

DL Joe Gaziano: Not likely to return

Gaziano barely factored in for the Falcons in 2023 despite a rash of injuries, and the coaching staff that brought him in is largely gone. He’ll likely land a reserve role elsewhere.

DL Kentavius Street: Likely to return

I think the Falcons will prioritize keeping Street despite his obvious ties to Nielsen, his former defensive line coach, because he is still fairly young, showed useful versatility and skill in last year’s stint, and won’t break the bank. The Falcons can’t simply reset their interior defensive line outside of Grady Jarrett and Ta’Quon Graham, and Street feels like a good bet to re-join the rotation.

EDGE Bud Dupree: May return

Things weren’t always pretty late in the year, but Dupree provided a lot of value for the Falcons in 2023 as a solid run defender and pass rusher. The Falcons will want to augment their EDGE group this offseason, but Dupree can be an effective bridge to younger players for another year if the Falcons are willing to pay up for his services.

ILB Nate Landman, ERFA: Returning

No-brainer. He’s an exclusive rights free agent, and Landman was impressive as an injury fill-in for Troy Andersen throughout last season, especially as a run defender. He’ll make an excellent third inside linebacker for this team in 2024.

CB Jeff Okudah: Not likely to return

Jerry Gray is still here and was undoubtedly involved in the decision to bench Okudah down the stretch for rookie Clark Phillips, and I think that late souring doesn’t bode well for his chances of returning. A player this young and with his draft pedigree and early 2023 results figures to get a look somewhere; it just doesn’t seem incredibly likely to be the Falcons, who have A.J. Terrell, Phillips, and Dee Alford as potential starters under contract.

CB Tre Flowers: Likely to return

I agree with The Athletic’s Josh Kendall here: Flowers’ ability to play cornerback and safety, his familiarity with Jerry Gray, and his physicality and special teams value all add up to make him a player the Falcons should be considering keeping around. Flowers would be a great fourth or fifth cornerback and emergency safety option for Atlanta, and because he’s also likely to be an affordable one, I think he stays.

LS Liam McCullough, ERFA: Returning

An exclusive rights free agent and a fine long snapper, McCullough will be back in 2024, especially with Marquice Williams remaining on board.