Following a disappointing loss to the Buccaneers, the Falcons will turn around and face another division foe, the Panthers.
After opening the season in Atlanta against Bryce Young making his NFL debut, the club will travel to Charolette to take on 1-12 Carolina in what is effectively a lifeless organization at the moment.
They just fired their head coach and got blown out by a middling Saints team that hardly topped 200 yards of total offense last week. It’s a must-win for a playoff-hopeful Falcons team and one that should be an easy victory.
But if we’ve learned anything about this team, no contest can be overlooked. Arthur Smith’s squad is inconsistent at best, despite the massive roster overhaul this offseason.
Entering the new year, the Falcons were finally out from underneath the mountainous amounts of dead cap inherited from the Matt Ryan and Julio Jones trades. The new regime gutted the roster and took the financial ramifications head-on, netting the front office the second-most cap space entering the offseason.
Terry Fontenot went on a spending spree, inking Jessie Bates III, David Onyemata, and Kaden Elliss to multi-year deals on the first day of free agency. He also brought back Kaleb McGary on a lucrative contract while making Chris Lindstrom the highest-paid guard in football at the time.
The improvements haven’t yet resulted in more wins, but the influx of talent is undeniable. Elliss, Onyemata, and Bates have spearheaded the defensive turnaround in Atlanta. Though the season hasn’t gone exactly as Falcons fans had hoped, the club is trending in the right direction with the right guys in the building.
What’s even more exciting for fans? Atlanta will once again have money to spend this offseason. According to OverTheCap, the Falcons are projected to have about $35 million in cap space next offseason. Moreover, the figure could balloon to over $45 million if they part ways with Taylor Heinicke and Mike Hughes; both moves that I expect to happen.
The Falcons will once again be big players in free agency. The future health of their balance sheet is also encouraging, so Atlanta could easily backload contracts to maximize the competitiveness of the 2024 team without seriously sacrificing later years.
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Photographer: Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire
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