Atlanta Falcons have already kicked off contract extension talks with kicker Matt Bryant

The Atlanta Falcons have a few upcoming free agents of note, but arguably the toughest to replace is the ageless Matt Bryant. Bryant has somehow continued to improve with age, kind of like Benjamin Button. Despite being 42 last season, he’s been clutch on field goals, especially long field goals. It’s kind of absurd that someone his age can buck all trends and continue to drill 50+ yarders.

Kickers may sometimes be overlooked, but they can be tough to replace. In fact, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have spent a ton of money (and draft picks lol) on kickers since they cut Bryant. They still don’t have an answer. The draft is risky, and free agency is no sure thing. There’s also nothing more frustrating than losing a game because of a kicker missing a short field goal.

Luckily, the Falcons might not have to chance it. According to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Falcons are working on keeping him in Atlanta.

“We have talked and more talks are scheduled,” Bryant’s agent Jordan Woy wrote in an e-mail to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday. “Nothing yet, but both sides are working on it.”

I can sum up Ledbetter’s impressive stats on Bryant: he’s very good.

His salary is another question. I can see the team trying to limit it to a short deal, or I could see them trying to lock him up for the next 20 years. I know at some point Bryant will be too old to kick, I just don’t know in which decade that will happen. I’m guessing he should come in around the top of the market.

According to Spotrac, the top five kickers in the league are making between $4.25 million and $3.3 million this season including the prorated portion of their signing bonus. I’m going to randomly guess he will sign a two-year deal for around $7.5 million.