The Atlanta Falcons only have $10 million in cap space per Spotrac. With limited resources due to being handicapped by the Kirk Cousins contract, the Falcons have taken a conservative approach to free agency.
Some stellar contributors like Grady Jarrett and Drew Dalman left to join the Chicago Bears in free agency. Atlanta will certainly miss those guys but there were other players who signed elsewhere.
EDGE Lorenzo Carter joined the Tennessee Titans on a one-year, $1.4 million deal in March. After spending three seasons with the Falcons, he decided to leave town but his departure won't upset the fanbase.
The Falcons' pass rush has been a major letdown last season, ranking 31st in the league in team sacks (31). Carter didn't help in that department at all, posting a whopping zero sacks in 2024.
In 47 career games (29 starts) with Atlanta, Carter had 125 total tackles, 14 TFLs, 23 QB hits, and seven sacks. He never finished with more than four sacks in any season with the team.
According to PFF, Carter had one of the worst seasons of his career. He notched a 43 overall grade (194th among 211 graded EDGE defenders), a 47.3 pass-rush grade (203rd among 211 graded EDGE defenders), and a 53.6 run defense grade (160th among 211 graded EDGE defenders). Carter also logged just seven pressures (127th among 211 graded EDGE defenders).
He was never able to be a consistent and reliable edge rusher off the edge. Getting after the quarterback is a must-have in today's league due to the elite quarterbacks and offenses spread around the game.
Carter hasn't done that at a high level in his career, which is why the Falcons let him go. They will use the NFL Draft as an asset to bring more juice upfront. Whenever the Falcons add to that unit, no one will be thinking about Carter.