The Atlanta Falcons have plenty of items on their to-do list but the biggest one is upgrading the defensive line. Atlanta’s pass rush was one of the worst in the NFL last season, ranking 25th in pressure rate (20%) and ranking 31st with 31 sacks. Their performance against the run wasn’t much better as they tied for 18th, allowing 4.5 yards per carry.
Atlanta received some good news earlier this week when the NFL’s salary cap went up higher than expected. But they still have to be cost-conscious as they currently sit $4.9 million over the salary cap of $279.5 million and could be in a deeper hole once they decide what to do with Kirk Cousins.
But while Atlanta could dive into a loaded defensive tackle class in the draft, they got one gift from the football gods on Friday that could solve their problem in the trenches.
Former Bengals Defensive Tackle Sheldon Rankins Becomes Perfect Falcons Free Agent Target
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Cincinnati Bengals are releasing defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins. Rankins signed a two-year, $24.5 million contract in free agency with Cincinnati last offseason but turned in one of the worst years of his career, notching 18 total tackles with just one sack in seven games.
#Bengals releasing DT Sheldon Rankins saves $9.6M on the cap. Rankins, who signed a two-year free agency deal with Cincinnati last offseason, had a tough year while battling viral meningitis.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 21, 2025
A battle with viral meningitis was part of the reason for Rankins’ struggles last season but with Cincinnati looking to sign Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase to new contracts, creating the $9.6 million in cap space was a bigger benefit to the Bengals.
While the Bengals have deemed Rankins disposable, it could be a treasure for the Falcons. Rankins has been a solid player for most of his career, logging 17.5 sacks in his first five seasons with the New Orleans Saints. Rankins spent two seasons with the Jets before collecting six sacks on a one-year deal with the Houston Texans, leading to his big payday with Cincinnati last spring.
But while his health had something to do with his play, he wasn’t effective when he was on the field. In addition to a career-low sack total, Rankins posted the lowest overall grade since his rookie season in 2016 at 55.3 according to PFF. He also managed just four pressures on 163 pass-rushing snaps and saw his pass-rush grade drop from 74.7 to 58.9 last season.
Still, Jenkins could be an upgrade along Atlanta’s defensive line. Grady Jarrett posted the lowest overall grade of his career last season at 62.1 and his 34 pressures were his lowest total since he posted nine pressures during his rookie season in 2015.
Releasing Jarrett would also save the Falcons $16.25 million in cap space and Atlanta also has an opening at nose tackle with Eddie Goldman and Kentavius Street entering free agency.
If Atlanta can get Rankins at a discount, it would be a short-term solution at entering his age-31 season. But the Falcons can’t do much worse and would be best suited kicking the tires.