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The Atlanta Falcons don’t have a ton of cap space. I knew that, you knew that, and some people knew that well enough to try to put numbers on it before now. While we have a more official figure from the NFLPA, passed along here by D. Orlando Ledbetter, the conclusion everyone has come to for weeks is true: The Falcons are out of room for any big name free agents right now.
#Falcons have $5.633,482 million left under the salary cap, according to NFLPA documents. Get $3.5 million for Toilolo post June 1 cut. Get some more room from Ryan's $21.65 cap number when extension is completed
— D. Orlando Ledbetter (@DOrlandoAJC) March 19, 2018
To this point, the Falcons have signed a new starting right guard, shored up their cornerback depth chart, and re-signed key pieces at safety and along the offensive line. That’s not nothing—the starting right guard was a big demand from the fanbase—but it’s certainly not very splashy. They’re working to extend Matt Ryan, which should theoretically free up at least a few million in 2018, but none of us should have our hearts set on any stud free agents at this point.
So the Falcons aren’t going to be very active, in other words, when their current cap space basically just covers their draft class. While there are legitimately good players signing with teams right now and free agency can make a genuine positive difference for contending teams, this is still not at all inaccurate for the vast majority of years and the vast majority of clubs.
An interesting perspective on free agency by @ConorOrr of @theMMQB pic.twitter.com/pR4k1FRKIJ
— Brian Cearns (@FalconsBCearns) March 20, 2018
That said, let’s get those dollars opened up and see who the Falcons add to the roster over the next couple of months. We do like news, after all.