I'm no "cap expert," but I thought the Falcons had "a little more than $5 million" to play with. If D. Orlando Ledbetter at the AJC is correct, though, that's not the case.
#Falcons are $5 million under the cap https://t.co/CyAlzpJJJE
— D. Orlando Ledbetter (@DOrlandoAJC) March 21, 2016
You've got to sign your draft class and there's no real cap relief coming until after June 1, when you'll see over $5 million from cutting Paul Soliai and perhaps additional money from Tyson Jackson or Devin Hester, if Atlanta elects to axe either in the near future. The Falcons are going to be limited to very low-grade signings, in other words, and our hope that they might be interested in a relatively robust class of free agent safeties probably goes up in smoke.
That all changes after June 1, of course, when the Falcons can simply roll over some space or try to sign either a cut safety or one who has managed to linger on the market that entire time. We may yet see the Falcons pick up a quality player or two at a bargain price, but as a man who loves news to write about this time of year and was hoping for a Walter Thurmond signing, I probably need to give up that dream.
Alas. We'll look ahead to the draft now.