The Falcons are one of six teams that enter the offseason in the red, according to Over The Cap’s projected effective cap space for 2025. To make matters worse, Atlanta only has 35 players under contract in 2025, which is tied for third-least among all teams.
The easiest way to free up some cap space is restructuring some of the team’s bigger contracts. If the Falcons restructure the contracts of Chris Lindstrom, A.J. Terrell, Jessie Bates III, Darnell Mooney, and Jake Matthews, they can save $37 million. They can save even more by reworking Grady Jarrett’s contract and potentially cutting David Onyemata.
However, it all starts with Kirk Cousins, which was always going to be the case when Terry Fontenot and Raheem Morris elected to pay two quarterbacks. This was the root of everyone’s complaints when the Falcons elected to give Cousins $180 million in free agency six weeks before drafting Michael Penix Jr. with their top 10 pick.
What it has effectively done is financially handicap the Falcons. Terry Fontenot will not be able to take advantage of Penix’s rookie contract, which is the single biggest advantage for any team in the NFL.
Just look at the Commanders. Washington has a roster that overachieved, finishing its season in the Conference Championship game. But they have the ultimate cheat code — Jayden Daniels on a rookie contract. The Commanders have the third-most cap space in football, with more than $70 million in effective cap to spend this offseason.
That’s the benefit of having a quarterback on a rookie contract. Now, Adam Peters can spend gobs of cash on the surrounding talent. Meanwhile, Terry Fontenot is having to pay two quarterbacks. Penix is only going to account for a little over $5 million against the cap, while Cousins accounts for $40 million.
Sure, the Falcons may have found their franchise quarterback in Penix, and they might be able to save some money if they can find a trade partner for Cousins, but this all goes back to this being an incredibly flawed process.
The Falcons thought they were playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. In reality, this organization is playing tic-tac-toe.
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Photographer: Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire
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