https://theathletic.com/850483/2019/03/04/schultz-dimitroff-says-falcons-have-cap-space-to-fix-problems/
This offseason has not instilled much excitement or joy in the Falcons’ fan base, even counting the announcement that hotdog prices at Mercedes-Benz Stadium are being dropped from $2 to $1.50, assuming you don’t include the accompanying cost of a PSL or a new car, whichever is cheaper.
Dan Quinn blew up his coaching staff, which may or may not work out. Vic Beasley, the former first-round draft pick who has been underwhelming in three of his four seasons, was brought back at the full retail price of $12.8 million, akin to buying $1,200 jeans. And Monday, while it neither came as a surprise nor is necessarily binding, the Falcons slapped the franchise tag on would-be free agent Grady Jarrett, which means he’ll at least temporarily eat up $15.209 million of salary cap space.
There are all sorts of immediate ramifications to the Beasley and Jarrett decisions, not the least of which potentially leaves the Falcons about only $5 million under the $188.2 salary cap. Free agency shopping could be limited to a weekend garage sale.
But Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff insisted Monday night the situation isn’t nearly that dire. He still believes the team can get Jarrett signed to a long-term contract before the July 15 deadline, reducing the player’s 2019 cap figure by several million dollars. Dimitroff also left the door open to other potential cap-saving moves. Most importantly, he believes the Falcons will have the cap space they need to make improvements this offseason.
“I think we do a really good job with how we approach things,” Dimitroff said after returning from the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. “Is it going to take legitimate creativity? Yes. Does it put us in a real bind? No — I don’t believe so. I believe we’ve managed it quite well, and we’ll continue to manage it well.”
Dimitroff alluded to the Beasley and Jarrett moves, as well as the decisions to cut Robert Alford, Brian Poole and Matt Bryant, when he added: “We feel comfortable with the people we’ve decided to keep. We feel comfortable with the people we’ve decided to move on from. We feel we’ll be in the market to acquire a player or more who can continue to help us be a better football team. That said, of course there are times (the salary cap) will cause us to not pull a trigger on a decision.”
There is pressure on Dimitroff and Quinn to fix a team that has slipped since making it to the Super Bowl two years ago and missed the playoffs in 2018. The salary cap situation seemingly has made improvement difficult. Quinn openly acknowledged three of the starting five positions on the offensive line might be changed, and there are other holes on the defensive line and at cornerback.
Beasley, Jarrett and cornerback Desmond Trufant ($13.9 million) currently comprise a collective salary cap hit of $41.909 million. That represents 22.3 percent of the cap for three players, two of whom (Beasley and Trufant) have performed well-below expectations the past two years.
Those salary commitments would be more palatable if all three were still viewed as difference-makers and the defense — albeit hurt by injuries — didn’t rank so low in several categories in 2018: 28th in yardage (384.5), 25th in points against (26.4), 27th in yards allowed per play (6.0 yards), 25th in opponent quarterback efficiency (98.3), 30th in opponent rushing yards per carry (4.9), 30th in points allowed per drive (2.39), 30th in first downs allowed, 20th in takeaways and 25th in sacks.
Quinn, who is taking over the defense, believes he can get more out of Beasley. But there’s another potential factor in the Falcons’ decision to keep Beasley at his current price that hasn’t been talked about.
Beasley’s agent is Todd France. France also represents Jarrett. France is part of the powerful CAA network that also represents Matt Ryan and Julio Jones.
See where we’re going with this? It behooves the Falcons to maintain a positive working relationship with CAA. Asking Beasley to take a pay cut theoretically might have damaged that relationship.
Jarrett is seeking to become one of the highest paid defensive tackles in football — likely below Aaron Donald (six-year, $135 million, $86.9 guaranteed, $22.5 million average) but perhaps approaching the next group (Fletcher Cox, Kawann Short, Gene Atkins, who average in the $16 million range).
Pro Football Focus recently projected Jarrett’s deal at five years, $82.5 million ($16.5 average) with $46 million guaranteed. The 2019 salary cap figure could be significantly below $15.2 million because of the prorated signing bonus.
That’s the best-case scenario. Here’s the worst: If the Falcons can’t come to terms with Jarrett, they’re stuck. It’s why there’s legitimate concern, even while Dimitroff and Quinn maintain optimism.
The Falcons could choose to create more cap space by cutting at least one more veteran. The top cap casualty candidates are tackle Ryan Schaeder and wide receiver Mohamed Sanu.
Cutting Sanu would create a little more cap space ($4.85 million) than Schaeder ($3.95 million). But Sanu still brings value to the offense, while Schrader is coming off a poor season in which he lost his starting right tackle job to Ty Sambrailo. Sambrailo was just signed to a three-year, $14.25 million extension.
The re-signing of backup quarterback Matt Schaub was criticized by some, but that actually wasn’t a bad move. It’s believed Schaub’s new two-year deal will carry only half the cap hit that it did in 2018 ($4.5 million). Any decent backup QB will cost at least $2 million.
It hasn’t been the ideal offseason. But Dimitroff maintains the view it will be better following the draft and free agency.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy,” he said. “It never is when you have a $30 million quarterback and some of the high-priced players we have. But we made the choice to do that, and we think they’re worth that. That said, it’s complicated.”
