Jacob Tamme, who was an important piece of the Falcons’ league-leading offense in 2016 before his season was cut short by a shoulder injury, is one of 17 Falcons eligible for unrestricted free agency this offseason. Tamme posted a career-high 657 receiving yards in 2015, his first year in Atlanta, and he was the Falcons’ leading receiver after the first three games of 2016, with 14 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown.
He is roughly three months into his recovery for the shoulder surgery that he underwent in November, a process that is expected to take another two or three months. But despite the injury, and despite the fact that he will turn 32 on March 15, there will be some competition for his services. Indeed, it is difficult to see the Colts allowing Jack Doyle to depart in free agency, and outside of Doyle and Martellus Bennett –whom the Patriots will likely do their best to retain — this year’s tight end market is fairly thin.
As Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com writes, Tamme would like to stay in Atlanta. Tamme said, “I love being a Falcon, love my teammates, love what we have going on here in this organization. I’m interested to see what the future holds.”
GM Thomas Dimitroff has said the Falcons’ primary objective is locking up their own players, and Tamme is surely a player that Dimitroff would like to have back. The team did select Austin Hooper in the third-round of the 2016 draft, and Hooper showed some promise as the season wore on, including a touchdown grab in the Super Bowl. But the tight end depth chart is currently pretty bare beyond the youthful Hooper, as Levine Toilolo is also set to become an unrestricted free agent (though it should be noted that the Falcons do have hope for Joshua Perkins, a 2016 UDFA who played for new offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian when Sarkisian was at the University of Washington). Given Tamme’s experience and his apparent rapport with Matt Ryan, the Falcons would probably be wise to re-sign him.
But if they don’t, McClure’s sources indicate that the 49ers could be in play for the Kentucky product. Of course, former Falcons’ OC Kyle Shanahan is now the head coach in San Francisco, and per McClure, Shanahan would love to have a cerebral player such as Tamme on board to help implement his offense, even though the 49ers just signed tight end Vance McDonald to a five-year contract extension in December.
Tamme first made a name for himself as a favored receiver in Peyton Manning‘s Colts offense. Later, he reunited with Manning on the Broncos, but he saw his role reduced as he battled for playing time with Julius Thomas and Virgil Green. He signed a two-year, $3.2MM base value deal with the Falcons before the 2015 season.