A very difficult offseason awaits the Atlanta Falcons. Not only do they need help on both ends of the field after missing the playoffs for the seventh straight season, but they also have no cap space to do so. They are $11.9 million over the cap, the fifth-worst mark in the league, and have to find ways to shed salary before the season.
In order to climb out of the hole the Falcons have dug themselves, they need to make tough decisions. That includes cutting players who may be helping the team.
The Athletic identified a player from each team who will likely be a cap casualty this offseason. For the Falcons, the player they expect to be cut is veteran defensive tackle David Onyemata.
"Financially, it makes more sense to move on from fellow defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, but he seems untouchable in Atlanta even though he and Onyemata both will be 32 when the season begins."Josh Kendall, The Athletic
Onyemata was signed to a three-year, $35 million deal in the 2023 offseason, uniting him with Ryan Nielsen, his former position coach from the Saints. Nielsen left after one season but Onyemata continued to provide solid interior defensive line play. In his age-32 season, Onyemata played every game and had three sacks, eight tackles for loss, and five QB hits. His 66.2 defensive grade on PFF was a fall from a season prior, but he still ranked as the 38th-best interior defensive lineman out of 118 qualified players.
His potential release, unfortunately, has nothing to do with his play and everything to do with the Falcons' disastrous cap management. Cutting Onyemata would give the Falcons $8.8 million in dead cap while saving $8 million in cap. Making him a post-June 1 cut would add $2.5 million in savings. As the Athletic points out, cutting Grady Jarrett would save the Falcons significantly more money ($16 million in 2025), but whether it is feasible for the team to cut the ten-year veteran is a different question.
Which direction the Falcons GM Terry Fontenot will decide to go remains to be seen, but it will certainly be a difficult offseason in Atlanta.