Falcons actually have more cap space than originally anticipated

The Falcons have a lot to do this offseason and not a lot of resources. Fortunately, Atlanta has more cap space than initially anticipated.

The league salary cap is increasing and will be somewhere in the range of $277.5 million to $281.5 million, which is about $5-9 million more than most sites were projecting.

OverTheCap was using a $272.5 million salary, so the bad news is the Falcons are still in the red, regardless of where the actual number lands.

If we use that figure, the Falcons are over the cap by $4.99 million. The team’s effective cap space would be around $8.4 million in the red. Of course, those figures could fluctuate by around $2 million depending on what the NFL decides.

What this all means is that the Falcons can get into the green much easier than originally anticipated. By simply cutting David Oneymata with a pre-June 1 designation, the Falcons would save a hair over $8 million.

That’s hardly the only contract that needs Terry Fontenot’s attention, though. The Falcons need to address Kirk Cousins, whether it’s a trade or an outright release. Younghoe Koo could be a cap casualty as well, and Grady Jarrett’s contract cannot go untouched, regardless of what happens. Then, there are the restructure candidates like Jessie Bates and Chris Lindstrom.

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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire