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Atlanta Falcons News & Rumors

Falcons To Sign Dante Fowler Jr.

March 18th, 2020 at 1:27pm CST by Zachary Links

Dante Fowler Jr. has agreed to sign with the Falcons, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. It’s a three-year deal for the pass rusher (per Rapoport). Fowler will be getting a whopping $48MM over the three years, ESPN’s Vaughn McClure tweets.

The former third-overall pick joined the Rams via trade midway through the 2018 season. He finally exploded for a career season in 2019, finishing with career-highs in tackles (58), sacks (11.5), passes defended (six), and forced fumbles (two).

Fowler had spent the first four-plus seasons of his career with the Jaguars, including a rookie campaign that was wiped out thanks to a torn ACL.

In Atlanta, he’ll be playing under head coach Dan Quinn, who actually worked with Fowler when the two were at Florida. He’ll immediately provide some reinforcement to a pass rush that recently lost Vic Beasley via free agency.

With the Falcons being low in space space, the past two days have mostly been highlighted by players they’ve released, including running back Devonta Freeman. Otherwise, they’ve extended defensive tackle Tyeler Davison and traded for tight end Hayden Hurst.

According to Rapoport, the Rams tried to retain Fowler. The team has already seen several key defensive free agents leave, including linebacker Cory Littleton (Raiders) and defensive lineman Michael Brockers (Ravens).

North Notes: Steelers, Ravens, Hurst

March 17th, 2020 at 6:51pm CST by Ben Levine

Steelers tight end Vance McDonald has restructured his contract, reports SiriusXM’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter). The veteran will see his $5.5MM base salary converted into a signing bonus.

The 29-year-old joined the Steelers back in 2017, and he’s turned into a solid receiving threat in Pittsburgh. After finishing with a 50/610/4 receiving line in 2018, he followed that up with 38 receptions for 273 yards and three scores this past year.

McDonald joins a number of Steelers veterans who have reworked their deals to provide the organization with more cap space. That grouping includes quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who restructured his deal earlier today. With all of the Steelers moves (including cut players), they’ve opened up an estimated $35MM in cap space.

Let’s check out some more notes from the league’s northern divisions:

  • Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic looks at the who the Ravens could turn to as they look to replace retired lineman Marshal Yanda. While the team is rostering several internal options, the writer dives into the potential options in the draft and free agency. Zrebiec notes that the organization has had some luck finding starting linemen on Day 2 of the draft, and he passes along that general manager Eric DeCosta “all but guaranteed” that the organization will draft at least a pair of linemen.
  • The fourth-rounder that the Ravens sent the Falcons in the Hayden Hurst deal is their compensatory pick, tweets Jason La Canfora. Baltimore ended up receiving a second- and fifth-round pick in the deal. The Ravens drafted Hurst in the first-round in 2018, but he immediately took a backseat behind Mark Andrews, who Baltimore took in the third round of that same draft. With Austin Hooper leaving Atlanta, the Falcons had a major need at the position.
  • The Bears had interest in lineman Alex Lewis before he re-signed with the Jets, reports Caplan (via Twitter). Chicago has been looking to shake up their offense a bit, as they’re in the market for a quarterback to battle with Mitch Trubisky. The organization has also added veteran tight end Jimmy Graham.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/17/20

March 17th, 2020 at 6:24pm CST by Zachary Links

Tuesday’s restricted free agent and exclusive rights free agent tender decisions will be posted below. Deals will be updated throughout the day.

RFAs

Tendered at second-round level: 

Tendered at original-round level:

ERFAs

Tendered:

Non-tendered:

Contract Details: Cooper, Hargrave, Littleton

March 17th, 2020 at 6:06pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Jonathan Bostic, (Washington): two-years, $5MM, $1.75MM guaranteed; $1.25MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $960k ($500k guaranteed), 2021: $1.69MM; $500k roster bonus in 2020, $200k in non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses in 2020, $400k in non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses in 2021, an additional $800k in annual incentives available as well, according to John Keim of ESPN.

Amari Cooper, (Cowboys): five-years, $100MM deal, $60MM guaranteed; $10MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $10MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $20MM (fully guaranteed), 2022: $20MM (guaranteed for injury until March 2022), 2023: $20MM, 2024: $20MM, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com.

Tyeler Davison, (Falcons): three-years, $12MM, $4.55MM guaranteed; $3.64MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $910k (fully guaranteed), 2021: $3.2MM, 2022: $3.45MM; $200k in non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses in 2020, $250k in non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses in 2021, $350k in non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses in 2022, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.

George Fant, (Jets): three-years, $27.3MM, $8.85MM guaranteed; $3MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $4.6MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $8MM, 2022: $9.25MM; $1.25MM guaranteed roster bonus in 2020, $400k non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses from 2020-2022, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.

Javon Hargrave, (Eagles): three-years, $39MM, $26MM guaranteed; $11.75MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $1MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $12.75MM (fully guaranteed), 2022: $12.75MM; $250k workout bonus in 2022, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

Cory Littleton, (Raiders): three-years, $35.25MM, $22MM guaranteed; salaries 2020: $11MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $5.5MM (fully guaranteed), 2022: $11MM; guaranteed $5.5MM 2021 roster bonus, non-guaranteed $500k weekly roster bonuses in 2020-2022, $250k workout bonus in 2020-2022, $250k annual Pro Bowl incentive, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

Levine Toilolo, (Giants): two-years, $6.2MM, $3.25MM guaranteed; salaries 2020: $1.225MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $2.925MM; guaranteed $2MM 2020 roster bonus, $25k annual workout bonus, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

 

 

 

 

Vic Beasley To Sign With Titans

March 17th, 2020 at 2:44pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Vic Beasley is leaving the Falcons organization to sign with the Titans, according to Dianna Russini of ESPN. The 8th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft has spent his entire career in Atlanta up to this point. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds the deal is for one-year, includes $9.5MM in guarantees, and maxes out at $12MM.

The 27-year old edge rusher seemed poised to be one of the best edge rushers in football just a few seasons ago. In 2016, just his second professional season, Beasley led the league with 15.5 sacks and 6 forced fumbles but has yet to approach replicating that production since. While still a competent starter over the past few seasons, Beasley clearly hopes that another elite season of production could line him up for a massive payday next offseason.

After playing a more situational role in 2017 and 2018, Beasley returned to a prominent role in Atlanta’s defense last season. In 2019, he recorded 42 tackles, 12 quarterback hits, 8 tackles for loss, and 8 sacks, but graded as just the 88th highest graded edge rusher (out 107 qualified players) by Pro Football Focus.

Ravens Trade TE Hayden Hurst To Falcons

March 16th, 2020 at 1:31pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Falcons’ tight ends room might be the busiest place in the NFL on an already wild day. After letting Austin Hooper walk and releasing Luke Stocker, the team is now making a splash trade. The Ravens have shipped tight end Hayden Hurst to Atlanta, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Baltimore is getting back an impressive haul, as they’re receiving second and fifth round picks in the 2020 draft while sending back a fourth-round selection to Atlanta. The Ravens drafted Hurst in the first-round in 2018, but he immediately took a backseat behind Mark Andrews, who Baltimore took in the third round of that same draft. Hurst missed the first handful of weeks of his rookie season after suffering a stress fracture in his foot, and he said the injury nagged him the whole year.

He ended up catching only 13 passes for 163 yards that year. While he took a step forward this past season with 30 receptions for 349 yards and two touchdowns, he was still expendable as Andrews emerged into one of the top tight ends in the league. There was a report a couple of weeks ago that while teams were calling the Ravens weren’t necessarily inclined to trade the South Carolina product, so clearly they were blown away by the offer.

As for the Falcons, they’ve now got their guy to replace Hooper. A second-round pick is a hefty price to give up for a player who hasn’t topped 350 yards in two years, but Hurst has shown plenty of flashes and had the misfortune of getting stuck behind Andrews. Hurst is already 26 though thanks to a couple of years spent playing minor league baseball after high school, and he’s actually more than a year older than Hooper is.

Atlanta will definitely be questioned for the decision to let Hooper walk and then give up this pick for a less-proven and older player, but Hooper landed a massive deal they weren’t willing to match and they had to do something to address the position.

 

Falcons Release TE Luke Stocker

March 16th, 2020 at 1:26pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Falcons’ tight ends room is getting a major overhaul Monday. First Atlanta let Austin Hooper walk in free agency as he signed with the Browns, and now they’re letting go of another one.

The team is releasing veteran tight end Luke Stocker according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Stocker signed with the team around this time last year, and ended up only lasting one season in Atlanta. Originally a fourth-round pick of the Buccaneers back in 2011, he spent the first seven years of his career in Tampa. During that time he played under Dirk Koetter, the former Bucs head coach who is now the Falcons’ offensive coordinator, which is probably what brought him to Atlanta.

Stocker has always been more of a blocker than a receiver, and he has also spent time at fullback. The 31-year-old Tennessee product had only eight catches for 53 yards last year. He played a bigger role in the passing game the year before with the Titans, racking up 165 yards and two touchdowns. Overall he played about 37 percent of the offensive snaps for the Falcons last year in addition to contributing on special teams.

Falcons To Cut Ty Sambrailo

March 16th, 2020 at 9:25am CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons will cut offensive lineman Ty Sambrailo, according to a source who spoke with NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo (on Twitter). It’s just the latest Monday morning move by the Falcons to free up cap space this offseason and more releases could be on the way. 

Sambrailo, who just celebrated his 28th birthday, played in 13 games as a reserve last season. He also got to leave the Falcons with a memorable moment – a 35-yard touchdown reception against the Buccaneers to close out the season and his Atlanta tenure.

By releasing the veteran, the Falcons will save roughly $3.7MM against the 2020 cap. That’s money that can be used to shore up their defense and, potentially, help bring another running back into the fold. Moments ago, the Falcons released one-time star Devonta Freeman, leaving them perilously thin in that area. Then again, many anticipate that they’ll target their next running back in the (likely to be teleconferenced) draft.

Before the official start of business today, the Falcons also informed cornerback Desmond Trufant that he’ll be released sometime this week.

Falcons To Release Devonta Freeman

March 16th, 2020 at 8:56am CST by Sam Robinson

Up against the 2020 salary cap, the Falcons will cut their longtime starting running back. They will move on from Devonta Freeman before the tampering period begins, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 

This previously rumored move will not be especially beneficial, though. The Falcons will eat $6MM in dead money by releasing their starting back of the past five seasons. A Freeman release would move Atlanta under the cap, however.

The Falcons will save around $3MM in cap space by releasing him outright. The Falcons have been mulling the possibility of moving on from Freeman for a while now – in October, they strongly considered dealing him to the Lions and other clubs in need of RBs.

Freeman was set to play out the rest of his five-year, $41.25MM deal. Signed in August of 2017, it made him one of the league’s highest-paid RBs. Unfortunately, it did not pan out – Freeman was unable to stay healthy and appeared in just two games in 2018. Last year, he played in 14 contests, but averaged just 3.6 yards per tote.

The Falcons are now charged with having to remake their backfield. As of this writing, they’ve got Brian Hill and….not much else. Many expect the Falcons to target their RB of the future in the draft since they’re lacking in cap flexibility.

Falcons To Release Desmond Trufant

March 16th, 2020 at 8:25am CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons will release cornerback Desmond Trufant this week, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). Trufant still had three years remaining on the five-year, $68.75MM extension he signed with Atlanta prior to the 2017 season.

Trufant had one of his strongest years, by some metrics, in 2019, but it wasn’t enough to keep his spot with the Falcons. By releasing him, the Falcons will save $4.95MM against $10.2MM in dead money.

Trufant came away with four interceptions and seven passes defensed in an injury-shortened eight-game season. He missed the first quarter of the year with a toe injury and was forced to go on IR in December after suffering a broken forearm.

.Before all of that, Trufant logged at least 15 games in five of his first six seasons. He was also a star in the Falcons defense, including his 2015 Pro Bowl season. Releasing Trufant was far from an easy call, but the Falcons find themselves in a difficult cap situation this offseason and they’re desperate for relief anywhere they can find it.

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