When Falcons owner Arthur Blank brought on general manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Arthur Smith in January, many anticipated the team would be going through somewhat of a rebuild. The majority of Atlanta’s cap space is tied up in a handful of monster contracts, including those of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones — giving the team very little wiggle room to make any significant changes.
That doesn’t seem to be the philosophy of Smith, however. While making an appearance on Football Morning in America with Peter King, Smith insisted he didn’t join the Falcons just to rebuild.
“They hired the wrong guys if they thought we were going to lower expectations, take our time, and rebuild,” said Smith. “That’s just not who we are. The expectation is to win now, build for the future, have plans.”
Atlanta’s commitment to Ryan was highlighted by the decision to pass on Ohio State QB Justin Fields in the draft. Instead, the team added another weapon for its veteran signal-caller, and signed backup AJ McCarron to replace Matt Schaub as the No. 2 quarterback.
The Falcons are still looking to create cap space as the signing of McCarron will likely take the team back to the break-even point and cause even more strain financially. As I highlighted before the draft, there are ways Atlanta can create cap space that don’t involve moving Jones. However, to give the Falcons max cap flexibility, trading the All-Pro receiver is something that the team may have no choice but to look into.
