The Falcons have been unable to close a long-term contract extension with defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, so they hit him with the franchise tag on Monday rather than allowing him to become a free agent next week.
Keeping Jarrett in the fold for 2019 was a smart move because losing him would have been a devastating blow for a defense that looked completely overwhelmed and out of its league in the two games Jarrett missed due to a sprained ankle last season. However, tagging Jarrett does complicate things for Atlanta’s salary cap situation.
Any multi-year extension Jarrett signs will include a sizable signing bonus, while the base salary will be back-loaded towards the latter years of the deal. Signing him would have helped free up more cap space for the Falcons for this year, which is becoming a significant obstacle.
By our best estimate, the team only has about $9.5 million left in cap space for the 2019 season.
Speaking with Jeff Schultz at the Athletic, general manager Thomas Dimitroff downplayed the idea that the team’s cap situation is dire. He did admit that it’s complicated, though.
“I think we do a really good job with how we approach things. . . I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. . . 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.”
The Falcons will continue to negotiate with Jarrett in the hopes of agreeing to a deal before the July 15 deadline. If they can’t get it done, it may severely limit what they can do this offseason.
Giving an extension to middle linebacker Deion Jones (entering the final year of his rookie deal) would be a good place to start.
