The Atlanta Falcons are near the bottom of the league in terms of salary cap space for the upcoming NFL season. With less than a week to get under this year’s cap of $182.5 million, the team has reportedly restructured one of its bigger contracts.
According to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Falcons restructured veteran offensive lineman Jake Matthews‘ contract to create $8.6 million in new cap space.
#Falcons created $8.6 million of cap space and are now just $5.6 million over the cap. https://t.co/7dBPdGlHe9
— D. Orlando Ledbetter (@DOrlandoAJC) March 12, 2021
Per Ledbetter’s report, Matthews’ $13 million base salary was converted into a signing bonus, meaning it can be spread over the remaining three years of is contract.
Atlanta was roughly $14 million over the cap prior to Matthews’ reported restructuring, and now will be less $6 million away from getting out of the red. The team released starting left guard James Carpenter on Wednesday and may not have enough space to re-sign former All-Pro center Alex Mack.
On Thursday, the Falcons re-signed four players, including kicker Younghoe Koo, defensive lineman Jacob Tuioti-Mariner and wide receiver Christian Blake.
In honor of Matthews’ team-first move, let’s check out one of his best blocks since putting on a Falcons uniform.
That block though….😳
Happy birthday, @jakematthews70! pic.twitter.com/IO3a1xVqVV
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) February 11, 2020
