Atlanta Falcons: Team Declines To Pursue Vic Beasley

With the Super Bowl complete and the NFL season over, the offseason can begin. Today, the Atlanta Falcons made news by announcing that the team would not be pursuing a contract with Vic Beasley Jr., ending his time with the Falcons.

The Atlanta Falcons got the offseason kicked off today with a big announcement. The team stated, this afternoon, that they would not be pursuing contract talks with Vic Beasley Jr., making the former first-round pick a free agent. The Falcons announcement brings an end to a very up and down, mostly down, era.

The Falcons drafted Beasley in 2015 with the 8th overall pick. Beasley was Dan Quinn’s first draft choice as the Falcons head coach. In Beasley’s first season, the edge rusher notched 4 sacks, a very underwhelming first season. It was his second season that Beasley would justify the expectations. In his second season, Beasley recorded 15.5 sacks to lead the NFL that season, the same season the Falcons made the Super Bowl.

Over the next three seasons, Beasley would prove to be more of the player from the first season rather than the guy who led the NFL in sacks. After his league-leading season, Beasley would record 5 sacks over the next two seasons. In his final season, Beasley bumped up his sack numbers, 8, but those sacks came after the season was over and done.

The Falcons had a chance to cut bait with Beasley with his fifth-year option in his contract. Instead of letting Beasley go last season, Quinn vowed to “fix” Beasley and revert him to the sack machine he was in 2016. Much like the Falcons season, Beasley had another disappointing season. Now, the Falcons make the wise move by moving on from Beasley.

Vic Beasley was very appreciative of the fans and his time in Atlanta when he responded to the news of the Falcons declining to conduct contract talks. Despite his disappointing stint in Atlanta, there will be a team that will fool themselves into signing Vic Beasley this offseason. There is no doubt in my mind some team will glance at the 8 sacks Beasley had this past season and convince themselves he can improve their pass rush. And, maybe can. I’m just glad the Beasley-era is over in Atlanta. Now, let’s try to get a real pass rusher here in Atlanta.