Report: NFL salary cap expected to rise by $12 million in 2016

NFL teams love having cap space, and the NFL apparently loves giving them more of it.

I'm told the NFL's salary cap is expected to jump to at least $155M this year. Nearly $12M more than last year's ($143.28M).

— Rand Getlin (@Rand_Getlin) February 15, 2016

I'm not 100% certain of the particulars of the Falcons' cap space, but it appears they currently have about $23 million in cap space with that ceiling, which is plenty to play with in free agency. If they wind up releasing a handful of other players—such as Devin Hester, Tyson Jackson, and perhaps even Roddy White—they can get very close to $30 million, which in true Falcons fashion should buy them 3-4 free agents the team views as starters and a bunch of depth and low-cost gambles. If those 3-4 guys end up being legitimate upgrades instead of decidedly mixed signings, the Falcons will be well off.

I'm speculating more than I should, considering that this won't be official for a little bit, but based on past years it seems like a good bet.

Of course, because everyone else is also seeing this increase, there'll be the same frenzied level of competition for top free agents we see every single year. Remind us who you want out of free agency down in the comments.