It's been an offseason of change for the Atlanta Falcons.
Facing difficult decisions due to their tough financial situation, the Falcons parted ways with several key veterans. Among those were longtime fan favorite Grady Jarrett, budding star on the offensive line Drew Dalman, and recent veteran acquisitions Justin Simmons and Matthew Judon.
Given the hard circumstances, GM Terry Fontenot did reasonably well to give the Falcons a chance to compete in 2025 and beyond.
Along the way, however, Fontenot may have made questionable decisions in free agency. This includes a potential overpay for veteran free agent linebacker Divine Deablo.
Falcons May Have Overpaid For a Free Agent Addition
Deablo was recently identified as a potential surprise breakout player for the Falcons by ESPN's Marc Raimondi. He noted that Deablo has impressed head coach Raheem Morris with his size, length, and speed.
While the former Raiders starter is certainly capable of playing a large role in Atlanta next season, that doesn't negate the fact that the Falcons had to pay more than they should have when signing him. Atlanta gave the 26-year-old defender a two-year, $14 million contract, including a $6 million signing bonus. For the 2025 season, Deablo will make a base salary of $1.66 million and have a cap hit of $4.94 million on the books.
In a league where inside linebackers are consistently devalued, that is a high price to pay for a non-playmaking defender.
Deablo has only two sacks in his four-year career and received a career-worst 56.8 defensive grade on Pro Football Focus last year. Linebackers who received higher grades and were more productive last season, like Akeem Davis-Gaither and Christian Elliss, received less lucrative deals in the offseason.
The Falcons desperately needed upgrades on the defensive side of the ball. Therefore, aggressively pursuing pass rushers and elite playmakers in the spring made a ton of sense. This contract for Deablo, however, may come back to bite them.