05-20-2021, 04:04 PM
Hmmmm...looking at Julio's salary and our June 1st cap space...carry the 7...and...yup...
Fact 1: The salary-cap problem is real, and it’s still thereThis reality doesn’t fit into those with fantasy-football or he’s-my-favorite-player mindsets. Fontenot has made a flurry of moves to attack the Falcons’ cap problem: He restructured the contracts of four players (Matt Ryan, Jake Matthews, Deion Jones, Tyeler Davison) and cut the salary of another (Dante Fowler). The Falcons released five players with cap figures deemed too high for their production (Ricardo Allen, James Carpenter, Jamon Brown, Allen Bailey, Ito Smith). Sources have told The Athletic that it was not the club’s initial desire to restructure Ryan but that the cap situation was deemed so dire that if the Falcons allowed him to play at a $40.9 million cap figure, it would’ve meant cutting Deion Jones. So the team converted some base salary into a signing bonus to lower Ryan’s cap number to $26.9 million, effectively kicking the problem to 2022, when Ryan’s cap number will balloon to $48.66 million. (That’s for another column.)
Bottom dollars: Even after those moves, and some low-budget free-agent signings, the Falcons don’t have enough space to sign their draft picks, including Kyle Pitts. They are only $588,018 under the cap according to the NFLPA’s public report and $412,351 under according to OverTheCap.com. Different sites calculate numbers differently but assume it’s in that area. The Falcons need $7 million to $8 million to sign their draft class, according to league sources. So they’re well short.
Fact 2: There are only two players left to create cap spaceThe Falcons are not going to cut a bunch of starters to create that $7-8 million in cap space. Sources say there are only two — yes, two — players they consider viable options to remedy the issue: Grady Jarrett or Julio Jones.
Jarrett, a leader and their best defensive player, has a 2021 cap hit of $20.833 million (third highest behind Ryan and Jones). The club wants to keep him long-term, so a contract restructure or extension is on the table. Either would drop his cap number significantly. But the Falcons have yet to approach Jarrett’s camp about a new deal. It doesn’t mean they won’t, but Jarrett’s agent, Todd France, is one of the best around and a tough negotiator, and it’s not going to be an easy deal to get done. If the expectation is to redo Jarrett quickly so the draft picks can be signed before training camp, it would seem odd that subject hasn’t even been broached, yet. Unless Jarrett isn’t the top option.
Jones is in a far different situation. He’s 32 years old and missed seven games last season. He remains a very capable player when healthy and can still make game-changing plays, but with age has come wear. He averaged 104.6 yards receiving from 2013 to 2018 but fell to 92.9 and 85.7 the past two years. He averaged 15.5 yards per reception in his first seven years, 14.6 in the past three. It’s not a dramatic drop, but it’s not insignificant.
It’s understandable if the play-caller in Smith is excited about the prospect of a receiving group with Jones, Pitts, Calvin Ridley, Russell Gage and Hayden Hurst. But as a creative play-caller, he has done more with lesser players. If the Falcons don’t/can’t work out a deal with Jarrett — and, again, they haven’t even started, yet — the only other way to create enough space to sign their draft picks is to trade Jones or restructure his deal.
While restructuring is an option, it’s not something the Falcons desire to do. Fontenot has made it clear on several occasions he does not want to play salary-cap roulette like the previous regime. He’s looking to clear up problems, not create more for coming seasons. He felt compelled to do it once with Ryan, but the truth is a starting quarterback in 2021 was going to be less expendable than a wide receiver. (Ryan wasn’t going anywhere, even if he wasn’t restructured.)
If Jones isn’t restructured, that leaves a trade as the lone option. If the Falcons trade Jones post-June, they would carry a dead-cap hit of only $7.75 million, thereby saving $15.3 million in space. A trade remains the most logical scenario.
Speak it into existence. @Hawkvike25
Fact 1: The salary-cap problem is real, and it’s still thereThis reality doesn’t fit into those with fantasy-football or he’s-my-favorite-player mindsets. Fontenot has made a flurry of moves to attack the Falcons’ cap problem: He restructured the contracts of four players (Matt Ryan, Jake Matthews, Deion Jones, Tyeler Davison) and cut the salary of another (Dante Fowler). The Falcons released five players with cap figures deemed too high for their production (Ricardo Allen, James Carpenter, Jamon Brown, Allen Bailey, Ito Smith). Sources have told The Athletic that it was not the club’s initial desire to restructure Ryan but that the cap situation was deemed so dire that if the Falcons allowed him to play at a $40.9 million cap figure, it would’ve meant cutting Deion Jones. So the team converted some base salary into a signing bonus to lower Ryan’s cap number to $26.9 million, effectively kicking the problem to 2022, when Ryan’s cap number will balloon to $48.66 million. (That’s for another column.)
Bottom dollars: Even after those moves, and some low-budget free-agent signings, the Falcons don’t have enough space to sign their draft picks, including Kyle Pitts. They are only $588,018 under the cap according to the NFLPA’s public report and $412,351 under according to OverTheCap.com. Different sites calculate numbers differently but assume it’s in that area. The Falcons need $7 million to $8 million to sign their draft class, according to league sources. So they’re well short.
Fact 2: There are only two players left to create cap spaceThe Falcons are not going to cut a bunch of starters to create that $7-8 million in cap space. Sources say there are only two — yes, two — players they consider viable options to remedy the issue: Grady Jarrett or Julio Jones.
Jarrett, a leader and their best defensive player, has a 2021 cap hit of $20.833 million (third highest behind Ryan and Jones). The club wants to keep him long-term, so a contract restructure or extension is on the table. Either would drop his cap number significantly. But the Falcons have yet to approach Jarrett’s camp about a new deal. It doesn’t mean they won’t, but Jarrett’s agent, Todd France, is one of the best around and a tough negotiator, and it’s not going to be an easy deal to get done. If the expectation is to redo Jarrett quickly so the draft picks can be signed before training camp, it would seem odd that subject hasn’t even been broached, yet. Unless Jarrett isn’t the top option.
Jones is in a far different situation. He’s 32 years old and missed seven games last season. He remains a very capable player when healthy and can still make game-changing plays, but with age has come wear. He averaged 104.6 yards receiving from 2013 to 2018 but fell to 92.9 and 85.7 the past two years. He averaged 15.5 yards per reception in his first seven years, 14.6 in the past three. It’s not a dramatic drop, but it’s not insignificant.
It’s understandable if the play-caller in Smith is excited about the prospect of a receiving group with Jones, Pitts, Calvin Ridley, Russell Gage and Hayden Hurst. But as a creative play-caller, he has done more with lesser players. If the Falcons don’t/can’t work out a deal with Jarrett — and, again, they haven’t even started, yet — the only other way to create enough space to sign their draft picks is to trade Jones or restructure his deal.
While restructuring is an option, it’s not something the Falcons desire to do. Fontenot has made it clear on several occasions he does not want to play salary-cap roulette like the previous regime. He’s looking to clear up problems, not create more for coming seasons. He felt compelled to do it once with Ryan, but the truth is a starting quarterback in 2021 was going to be less expendable than a wide receiver. (Ryan wasn’t going anywhere, even if he wasn’t restructured.)
If Jones isn’t restructured, that leaves a trade as the lone option. If the Falcons trade Jones post-June, they would carry a dead-cap hit of only $7.75 million, thereby saving $15.3 million in space. A trade remains the most logical scenario.
Speak it into existence. @Hawkvike25
B) ![[Image: 200.gif]](https://media0.giphy.com/media/qOe3IdJvF94fC/200.gif)
