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Atlanta Falcons News & Rumors

Falcons Cut DE Derrick Shelby

March 2nd, 2018 at 2:57pm CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons have released defensive end Derrick Shelby, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Shelby’s representatives requested the release so that he could get a jump start this weekend and “do a deal this weekend,” Rapoport adds. "<strong

Shelby, 29 in early March, left the Dolphins to sign with the Falcons in free agency last offseason. The veteran put himself on the map in 2016 when he took over for Cameron Wake following his injury and performed well in eight starts.

Shelby was a starter right out of the gate in Dan Quinn’s defense, but he did not bowl anyone over with his play. Shelby totaled 30 tackles on the year with one sack and graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 51 ranked edge defender.

Shelby, who also saw time on the interior in 2017, was under a four-year, $18MM contract with Atlanta with $7.5MM in guarantees. The Falcons will save $3.25MM against the cap by releasing him, but they’ll also be on the hook for $2.5MM in dead money.

The Falcons also released tight end Levine Toilolo on Friday and more cuts could be coming down the pike. The Falcons entered Friday with less than $11.5MM in cap space, putting them near the bottom of the NFL.

Taylor Gabriel To Leave Falcons?

March 1st, 2018 at 2:35pm CST by Zachary Links

It sounds like pending free agent Taylor Gabriel won’t be back with the Falcons. On Thursday, Gabriel took to Twitter to bid farewell to Atlanta fans and the organization. Taylor Gabriel (Vertical)

“I’m very grateful to the owner, [GM, and] also the coaches for giving me that opportunity, but [I’m excited] for the new team and city that welcomes me with open arms,” Gabriel wrote.

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff recently indicated that Gabriel would be allowed to test free agency, but it sounds as though the team has also told Gabriel’s camp that they will not be in on the bidding process. After another solid year, the 27-year-old may be in line for a pay bump.

The Falcons retained Gabriel with a second round tender last year, giving him a $2.81MM salary for 2017. Gabriel responded by catching 33 passes for 378 yards and one touchdown, numbers that were admittedly down from his 2016 stat line (35 passes, 379 yards, and six scores).

This offseason will mark Gabriel’s first turn through free agency. Free agents are permitted to speak with teams beginning on March 12 and can put pen to paper on March 14.

Falcons Notes: Ryan, Matthews, Jarrett, Gabriel

February 28th, 2018 at 7:52pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Falcons have opened extension talks with quarterback Matt Ryan, general manager Thomas Dimitroff told reporters, including Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (Twitter link), at the combine today. Ryan, 32, has only one year left on his current contract at a cost of $19.25MM in base salary. On an annual basis, Ryan ranks just 14th among quarterbacks, but any new deal will likely catapult him into $28MM+ range. Atlanta has previously expressed a willingness to make Ryan the highest-paid signal-caller in the NFL, so Ryan and his camp may prefer to wait until free agent passer Kirk Cousins inks a new contract (expected to be worth ~$30MM annually) before working out his own pact.

  • Left tackle Jake Matthews is set to play on his fifth-year option in 2018, and Dimitroff indicated the Falcons are interested in signing both Matthews and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett to multi-year deals, per D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). Matthews has settled in as an above-average tackle since being selected sixth overall in the 2014 draft. He’s scheduled to earn $12.496MM next season. Jarrett, likewise, has developed into one of the league’s best interior defenders, and graded 14th among 122 defensive tackles a year ago, according to Pro Football Focus.
  • Falcons wide receiver Taylor Gabriel and linebacker Kemal Ishmael will both be allowed to hit free agency, Dimitroff said today (Twitter links via McClure). That doesn’t necessarily mean Atlanta doesn’t have interest in retaining either player, but the club will allow Gabriel and Ishmael to gauge their value on the open market. Last season, Gabriel regressed from his excellent 2016 campaign, while Ishmael spent the majority of his time on special teams.

Falcons To Exercise Vic Beasley’s Option

February 28th, 2018 at 3:08pm CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons will exercise their fifth-year option on Vic Beasley, GM Thomas Dimitroff told reporters (Twitter link via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). The Falcons had until May to make the call, but they did not need the extra time to mull it over. Vic Beasley (Vertical)

The fifth-year option will keep Beasley under contract through the 2019 season. He’s already signed through the upcoming season at a $4.6MM cap number, the fourth year of his rookie contract. The figures for the fifth-year option are not yet known, but it will likely be in excess of $13MM.

The Falcons experimented with using Beasley as an outside linebacker in the past, but he’ll return to playing defensive end full time in 2018, according to head coach Dan Quinn. Despite his up-and-down campaign, his previous work and potential made the fifth-year option decision an easy call.

In 2016, Beasley led the league with 15.5 sacks, earning a Pro Bowl nod and a First Team All-Pro selection. Last year, he had just five sacks and his reassignment to linebacker resulted in a career-worst 55.6 overall score from Pro Football Focus.

The fifth-year option is guaranteed for injury only, so the Falcons will have an opportunity to change course if necessary.

Falcons G Andy Levitre To Return In 2018

February 28th, 2018 at 1:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Guard Andy Levitre will be back and ready to go next season, according to Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure). Levitre missed time at the end of the 2017 regular season and was unable to suit up for their playoff games against the Rams and Eagles. Andy Levitre (Vertical)

[RELATED: Falcons To Move On From Dontari Poe]

Levitre, 32 in May, is under contract with the team for one more season. He is slated to carry an $8.375MM cap hit and it’s conceivable that the Falcons will seek a cap smoothing extension with him in the coming weeks. As of this writing, the Falcons have roughly $11.5MM in cap room to work with and they’re hoping to extend quarterback Matt Ryan while addressing other needs.

Levitre had never missed a regular season game in his NFL career until he suffered a partially torn triceps in Week 13. He attempted to play through the pain in a late season contest against the Panthers, but he was forced out after only five plays. Last year, Levitre graded out as the 17th best guard in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics.

Falcons Unlikely To Re-Sign Dontari Poe

February 28th, 2018 at 1:12pm CST by Zachary Links

After one year in Atlanta, it sounds like Dontari Poe will be moving on. Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff told reporters on Wednesday that the two-time Pro Bowler is unlikely to be re-signed. Dontari Poe (Vertical)

“Did a heck of a job for us this year,” Dimitroff said (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure). “We really liked his impact for us — especially in the run game — understanding that it may be a one-year deal. We’re in a spot right now where there’s a very good chance that he’s going to go to free agency and land a very lucrative deal. So we appreciate what he has done with us.”

Poe joined the Falcons on a one-year, $8MM contract last season when the market did not yield the kind of big money long-term offers that he expected. Poe did well in that platform year as he registered 39 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and graded out as the No. 35 interior defender in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. Those aren’t superstar numbers, but the big knock against Poe last year was that his lingering back issues might slow him down. Now that he has missed only two games over the course of his six-year career – and none over the last two years – teams may be willing to make a lengthier commitment to him.

Salary Cap Rollover For All 32 NFL Teams

February 27th, 2018 at 12:17pm CST by Zachary Links

This week, the NFLPA updated its salary cap report to include the rollover amounts for all 32 teams in the NFL. The Browns, as expected, lead the league in $58.9MM in cap space rolled over from the previous season. Here is the full rundown of each team’s rollover amounts:

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After the Browns, the 49ers ($56MM), Titans ($30.3MM), Jaguars ($27.8MM), and Jets ($17.3MM) boast the highest rollover amounts in the league. The Dolphins ($69K), Saints ($287K), Giants ($365K), Eagles ($514K), and the Seahawks ($547K) have the least amount of rollover. In total, teams carried over nearly $340MM from last season, good for an average of $10.6MM per club.

Falcons Notes: Coleman, Ryan, Levitre

February 26th, 2018 at 5:18pm CST by Zachary Links
  • Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff says that he has no interest in trading running back Tevin Coleman this offseason (Twitter link via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com). Previously, Dimitroff indicated that he could see a scenario of extending Coleman even though the team has already paid Devonta Freeman. Last year, Coleman totaled 628 rushing yards and four touchdowns plus 27 catches for 299 yards. For what it’s worth, that’s 122 less receiving yards than he had in 2016 and his 4.0 yards-per-carry average was down from 4.4 over the previous two seasons.
  • The Falcons know that they’ll have some tough choices to make as they create room for quarterback Matt Ryan‘s next deal. “We all know that as we start nearing the signing of quarterbacks in this league, and especially quarterbacks of Matt Ryan’s status, you have to be very creative,” Dimitroff said on 680 The Fan (via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). “There are going to be some difficult moves for us to make probably early next week and into next week.” Ledbetter notes that left guard Andy Levitre ($7MM in savings) and defensive end Brooks Reed ($3.6MM in savings) are both cap casualty candidates. Other cap casualty candidates include quarterback Matt Schaub ($3.25MM), defensive tackle Derrick Shelby ($3.2MM), wide receiver Mohamed Sanu ($3.1MM,) and tight end Levine Toilolo ($2.5MM).

Weatherspoon Mentions Colts Connection

February 24th, 2018 at 4:10pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • Sean Weatherspoon has played in just six games for the Falcons the past two seasons and has missed all five of Atlanta’s playoff contests in that span. The 30-year-old linebacker is now a free agent. He would like to return to Atlanta but acknowledged a connection to former Missouri defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, who now has a first-time opportunity as an NFL DC with the Colts. “My college coach, who recruited me to Missouri, is the (defensive) coordinator for the Colts now,” Weatherspoon said, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “There are a lot of things, I love Atlanta, but I’m just looking for an opportunity. I’d love to be here. If things work out, this is where I’ll be.” Prior to his injury trouble during his second Falcons stint, the former first-round pick started 40 games with the Falcons from 2010-13. Given where he is in his career, Weatherspoon would likely be available for the veteran minimum.
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