Terry Fontenot and the Falcons must be under the $182.5 million salary cap by March 17. Right now, Atlanta is still at $14-15 million above that mark. The quickest way to do this would be to restructure the two most expensive contracts in the books, Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. This is not a criticism of Hayden. There`s simply no way he`ll play for the Falcons in 2022. His option for the fifth year, with which he would have earned $5.4 million in 2022, was rejected. Kyle Pitts is the future in Atlanta. However, there are a few things to keep in mind with these numbers. First, the Falcons recently signed 11 former players on the practice squad for reserve/future contracts. Technically, these contracts don`t go into effect until the start of the league`s new year, but that puts them halfway through the number they need. Second, with 10 draft picks, Atlanta also has a path to a significant infusion of cheap young talent. Of course, filling out a roster with 11 players from the training team and 10 rookies isn`t the most ideal situation – but it would bring them at least to the minimum they need to play. The Atlanta Falcons are in an all-out war with the salary cap.
General manager Terry Fontenot made it clear in his first season with the team that tough decisions need to be made. While attention has naturally turned to the team`s top earners like Julio Jones and Grady Jarrett, Fontenot doesn`t seem in a hurry to touch the contracts of both players. A reserve/future contract ensures that a player cannot be signed by another team. It will come into effect at the start of the league`s new year and will count towards next season`s salary cap and the 90-player limit for off-season activities and training camps. Only players who are not on an active team at the end of the regular season are eligible for a reserve/future contract. The Falcons signed 11 players to reserve/futures contracts on Monday. The Falcons are much more likely to try to give Jarrett a contract extension that would keep him in Atlanta for the foreseeable future and free up space in 2022. Benkert again signed a term contract with the Falcons for the 2019 season and was later added to their practice squad at the start of the regular season. According to Over The Cap, they currently have only $482,351 in cap space and have yet to sign any of their draft classes. You will need to increase that number to $5.5 million to $7 million to sign recruits, depending on the contract structure.
To move on to Julio, restructuring his entire base salary would create about $10 million in cap space. Its cap of $23 million this season would fall to $13.5 million if Fontenot converted the total base salary of $14.225 million, but that poses a similar problem. Essentially, these moves would push the Falcons well below the upper limit of the league, making it tempting; However, this would make a move on their part in the future extremely difficult and tie them to the team for the rest of their contracts – both will be signed by the 2023 season. With the signing of the futures contracts, the players will be on the Falcons` list at the start of the league`s new year in March. However, the situation isn`t as bleak as some imagine, and the Falcons have players who should at least be able to score end-of-round picks. But which players and contracts could be postponed? The Atlanta Falcons wrapped up their 2020 season on Sunday, and on Monday, the team signed 11 players — mostly former members of the practice squad — for reserve/future contracts. Let`s take a look at the players the Falcons want to keep next season. The Atlanta Falcons announced Monday that they have signed the following 11 players for reserve/future contracts after the 2020 season: Here are the current players under contract in 2021, as well as the players the team recently signed to secure reserve/future contracts. A bonus choice and $16 million in additional salary cap space? That said, if Jarrett were traded before the 2022 season, the Falcons would save $16.5 million on the salary cap, with money left to invest in other areas. Would a 28-year-old Pro Bowl multiple inside defensive lineman pick a first-round pick in the draft? If the Falcons go down that path, expect Fontenot to trade in the draft and acquire as much capital as possible to fill the myriad gaps in the roster.
The defense is littered with holes, and the offensive line could use reinforcements. With nine picks already in the April draft, Fontenot could easily make 11 or 12 by trading the fourth overall pick. Jarrett is originally from Georgia, but he has no illusions that the NFL is anything other than a company. As 2021 approaches, much depends on what the NFL does with the salary cap. If he stays relatively flat and the team makes some smart moves, the Falcons might have the flexibility to re-sign cheap veterans (CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Darqueze Dennard, Steven Means and Charles Harris of EDGE, S Damontae Kazee) and perhaps a starter like Keanu Neal. Jarrett is currently ranked 23rd defensive lineman out of 123 by Pro Football Focus. On the other hand, co-starters Tyeler Davison and Jonathan Bullard are ranked 102nd and 77th respectively. Still, he`s not a big winner in his rookie contract. Jarrett still has one year left for the four-year, $68 million contract he signed in 2019. His salary cap jumps from $20.8 million to $23.8 million in 2022 with a dead cap figure of just $7.3 million. .