The Atlanta Falcons are heading into a challenging offseason. They have no cap space and will have to clear salary off their books to have any chance of improving their roster for next season. They have to figure out what to do with Kirk Cousins and make tough decisions on free agents like Drew Dalman, Justin Simmons, Matthew Judon, and Mike Hughes.
With extension decisions also looming for Kyle Pitts, Tyler Allgeier, and Drake London, the Falcons have to nail their offseason moves to set themselves up well for the future.
To do that, they have to part ways with one veteran defender hitting restricted free agency.
Dee Alford, who is a pending restricted free agent after three seasons with the Falcons, would normally be a decent depth option to bring back. He is a developmental success story for Atlanta, who signed Alford as an undrafted free agent after he spent two seasons in the CFL. He had two solid seasons with the Falcons before having a down campaign in 2024. The final five games of the season were particularly bad for Alford and likely sealed his fate with the organization.
The 27-year-old defensive back was consistently burnt in coverage, receiving a career-low 55.9 grade on PFF. He also missed 17 tackles in 16 games, receiving a career-low 52.1 tackling grade. He gave up a 74.5% completion rate, 119.2 passer rating, and eight touchdowns in coverage.
By the time the end of the season rolled around, Alford had worn out his welcome with the fanbase. If the Falcons had more cap space to work with this spring, keeping Alford around on a short-term deal as a backup would still make sense. However, there are simply way too many bigger priorities for the Falcons and not enough cap room.
Atlanta will almost certainly try to add a cornerback in the early rounds of the draft to upgrade the position, meaning that Alford's time with the Falcons should and will come to an end.