Atlanta Falcons center Ryan Neuzil reportedly worked out at center for the team’s starting offense on Tuesday at OTAs, but he won’t be added to the roster until he signs his tender agreement.
Neuzil enters his fourth season with the Falcons, who don't have a guaranteed starting center for the upcoming 2025 season.
Drew Dalman, who started nine games for Atlanta a season ago and landed on the injured reserve due to an ankle injury he suffered in Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs, left in free agency.
From left to right, this group was consistent all season, besides up the middle. On either side of Neuzil and Dalman, Atlanta trotted out Jake Matthews at left tackle, Matthew Bergeron at left guard, Chris Lindstrom at right guard, and Kaleb McGary at right tackle. With Dalman in the middle at the beginning of 2024, this was a group entering their second straight season together.
It was Neuzil who replaced Dalman, and he made eight consecutive starts in Dalman’s absence, which was a career-high for the Appalachian State product. All eight starts were with Kirk Cousins under center, so if given the starting role, he’ll have to develop chemistry with Michael Penix Jr.
The other two candidates for the starting role are Jovaughn Gwyn and Matthew Cindric. Gwyn has appeared in two games since 2023, one each over the past two seasons.
Cindric signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent after the 2024 NFL Draft, who signed and waived him twice before Atlanta signed Cindric to their practice squad on Oct. 8.
Cindric was then signed to the New York Jets’ practice squad on Nov. 5. The 25-year-old signed a one-year, $840,000 contract with the Falcons this offseason, likely lining him up to be second or third on the depth chart.
Neuzil made 17 appearances, despite starting just eight games, and he committed six penalties while allowing one sack. He encountered one-on-one blocks 36.1% of the time and double-team blocks 63.9% of the time.
As an offensive line unit in 2024, the team ranked top 10 in the NFL in terms of rushing offense for the third consecutive season. Their 2,219 total yards ranked No. 10 in all of football, and their 4,068 passing yards ranked No. 5 in the NFL.
In addition to the high offensive ranks, especially for a team that missed the playoffs, Atlanta’s front-five committed 99 penalties, which was the seventh fewest in all of football.
It’ll be interesting to see how Raheem Morris and co. shake out their offensive line ahead of the 2025 season, considering this is a team with lofty aspirations.