Though we don’t know the job security status of Terry Fontenot and Raheem Morris, most would agree they might be looking for new jobs if the team misses the postseason again.
If that much is true and Fontenot knows it, he could be dangerous. A wounded tiger is a dangerous tiger, as they like to say. The Falcons don’t have a lot of resources to work with, but they could borrow from tomorrow to improve the team today. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, the Falcons will be in an even worse spot.
Fontenot has a monumental offseason ahead of him, and it’s not going to be easy. If you ask NFL.com’s Matt Okada, the Falcons are one of six franchises with the toughest tasks ahead of free agency.
“The Falcons are in very bad cap shape, fifth-worst in the league. They have a ton of money tied up in Kirk Cousins, who was benched late in the 2024 season for Michael Penix Jr. Cousins was signed to give this team a short-term window to compete for the Super Bowl, but now Atlanta appears to be deciding between making Cousins the highest-paid backup ever or taking the cap hit that comes with moving on from him.”
This was always going to be the case when the Falcons decided to give Kirk Cousins $180 million in free agency and draft Michael Penix Jr. with the 8th overall pick six weeks later. Even though Penix is starting and Cousins is the backup, the money doesn’t change. This is exactly why everyone criticized the decision.
Realistically, the Falcons have to reduce the cap percentage that the quarterback position is taking up, which only happens if they trade Cousins with a post-June 1 destination. Of course, they can part ways with him by cutting him outright, but the financial relief doesn’t really come until 2026.
“Further complicating matters, defensive stars Justin Simmons, Mike Hughes and Matthew Judon are all due to become unrestricted free agents (and Dee Alford is a restricted free agent) in March. On top of all that, Atlanta might have difficult extension decisions to make in the near future with Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Tyler Allgeier — if it intends to keep a decent core of young weapons on hand for Penix. If the Falcons can’t figure out the money and end up gutting the roster to start a rebuild, it’s likely going to be a painful process for a couple years.”
Okada is on the right track, but let’s not pretend Simmons, Hughes, or Judon were “stars” for the Falcons. Hughes and Simmons were quality starters, but Judon was a net-negative acquisition from the get-go. And don’t get me started on Dee Alford; that’s an addition-by-subtraction situation.
Granted, the Falcons do have to replace those snaps in some capacity, so I get the gist. Atlanta is stuck between a rock and a hard place. There’s a path forward, but it’s a narrow road with very little margin for error.
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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