The Falcons have nearly as much dead money as cap space at the moment, per The Score

An exact count of the Atlanta Falcons’ cap space is not available because I don’t have the ability to look at like, their cap bank account or whatever, but we get as close as we can with publicly available figures. Per those, and specifically per a cap space update from The Score, the Falcons are sitting on about $6.71 million in cap space.

If that’s relatively accurate, with all the team’s rookies locked up and free agents Brandon Fusco, Ron Parker, and Terrell McClain under contract, among others, then Atlanta’s in decent shape heading into preseason. They have enough cap flexibility to sign a couple veterans if injury strikes, and with the roster they currently have, that ought to be enough. It’s sort of impressive they have anything, given the limited space they started with.

Yet there’s also a flip side to that, which is that the Falcons have nearly as much dead money (roughly $5.87 million) as they do cap space. That’s a combination of bad luck, bad decisions, and Jalen Collins.

Here’s what that dead space looks like:

• Derrick Shelby: $2.5 million
• Tyson Jackson: $1.6 million
• Levine Toilolo: $1.0 million
• Jalen Collins: $505,769
• Brian Hill: $201,945

What’s striking about this list is that the Falcons have $4.1 million tied up in two regrettable contracts, one belonging to a player who hasn’t been on the team in a while (Tyson Jackson) and one who was cut and somehow returned to the team (Derrick Shelby). Those should drop off the cap after this season, thankfully, but they serve as reminders that even well-run teams make costly mistakes.

As for that cap space, I wouldn’t expect any exciting signings with the team sitting on under $10 million, even if bargains are available. This roster feels largely finished, and with any luck, injuries won’t change that.