Atlanta Falcons would love J.J. Watt; They’ll get Dante Fowler Jr.

Atlanta Falcons would love J.J. Watt. They’ll get Dante Fowler Jr.

How great would it be for a talented veteran pass-rusher to grace the Atlanta Falcons with their presence during the 2021 season?

With the news that the Houston Texans have released DE J.J. Watt from his contract, there is a hope among Atlanta Falcons fans that the franchise could somehow muster the funds and free up the financials to bring in the veteran pass-rusher.

While Watt is far from his All-Pro days, he still has proven to be a valuable commodity (when he can stay healthy). He is still one of the top pass-rushers in the league and there are plenty of examples of defensive linemen still making an impact past the age of 30 in the league. Just like at the Buccaneers if you want a prime precedent.

It would be magnificent and much-needed for the Falcons to land Watt this offseason, but the reality is disconcerting: He’s not coming to Atlanta and the Falcons will have Dante Fowler Jr. instead.

The Atlanta Falcons are in a hole when it comes to the salary cap due to poor decisions by the previous leadership

Terry Fontenot inherited a mess when it comes to the salary cap coming into Atlanta and that is really going to tie his hands when it comes to free-agency this season.

The Falcons can make some cuts and free up some space to pursue a free-agent or two this offseason, but the truth is that it’s not going to be enough to pay a guy like J.J. Watt more than $14 million per year, which is likely the low-end of what he’ll end up getting.

No, the truth is that the Falcons are stuck with Dante Fowler Jr. and will have to hope that he improves under a new defensive scheme. Fowler Jr. is set to make upwards of $18.5 million this year and his contract will have a dead cap hit of $15.3 million in 2021, according to Spotrac.

The Falcons can save $8 million if they cut him after June 1st, but that would be long after the Watt sweepstakes has come to a close.

The good news is that Fowler Jr. has shown the ability to be a solid pass-rusher and is just a season out from a year in which he had 11.5 sacks with the Rams, but a disappointing three sacks is what we saw as the reality in 2020 and that’s a tough pill to swallow.

He’s only 27 years old and there’s still a chance he takes a major step forward next season (Shaq Barrett of the Bucs led the league in sacks at 27 years old after a disappointing first five seasons in the league), but that doesn’t mean he will.

In the end, we can’t guarantee anything when it comes to Fowler Jr. What we can guarantee, however, is that there’s a much better chance the Atlanta Falcons have him on their roster next season than J.J. Watt.