The Atlanta Falcons should have a busy day as the NFL’s legal tampering window for free agency opens on Monday. The Falcons made their first move when releasing former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and will need to make more moves to create cap space before the start of the new league year on Wednesday.
After Jarrett’s release, the Falcons have $10.4 million in cap room entering free agency. With a defense that needs to upgrade its pass rush and secondary, general manager Terry Fontenot will be looking through the couch cushions for more money to spend and it could put a couple more players on the chopping block in the coming days.
1. Kirk Cousins, QB
The biggest question entering this week is what the Falcons will do with Kirk Cousins. Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract this time a year ago but was benched for rookie Michael Penix Jr. after 14 games. Falcons fans know the rest of the story as Cousins has spent the offseason campaigning for Atlanta to trade him and the Falcons have insisted they’re OK with having a $40 million backup.
You could look at Jarrett’s release in a couple of different ways. Now that the Falcons are under the salary cap, they could decide to keep Cousins and hold true to their word to make him the backup to Penix next season. The Falcons could also release more players to create the cap room necessary to pursue free agents and it would give Atlanta a premier insurance plan if Penix doesn’t pan out.
This could be a dream scenario for the Falcons’ front office as it would keep them from eating $40 million in dead money with a post-June 1 release – the likeliest scenario dating back to December. But there’s also the human element where Cousins met with owner Arthur Blank last weekend to try and facilitate a trade.
Either way, the Cousins drama continues to place a shadow over Atlanta’s offseason plans and could be the next head to roll when the tampering window opens.