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When the salary cap was expected to be about $121 million, the Falcons were running aground on the sandbar of the cap ceiling. Short of cutting a few players, they weren't going to have a lot of room to play around in free agency.
Now, though, we're looking at a cap that's expected to be over $123 million. That would give teams more than $2 million in extra money to use in free agency and the draft, which may save the Jets from just bursting into flame. It will also mean the Falcons have a couple extra million to lure a free agent pass rusher or running back in, or to grease the skids for a Tony Gonzalez return. Flexibility.
The NFL won't announce the final cap number until a short time before the league year begins on March 12, but if this guess is accurate, teams that had planned to make cuts or cross free agents off their pursuit list might just change their minds. Let's hope the Falcons' off-season is all the more successful thanks to this.