Atlanta Falcons: Top 5 players take up 66 percent of 2021 cap space

Taking a look at players under contract for 2021 shows just how bad the cap situation is for the Atlanta Falcons.

Former Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff was supposed to be a salary cap wizard and seemingly for years, he kept the franchise out of salary cap hell.

When looking at the 2021 salary cap situation, it is safe to assume that this was a big part of why he was let go by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank when he decided to make a coaching change as well. Not only is the franchise paying for his inability to draft over the last six seasons, but he has put them and the new front office between a rock and hard place.

When comparing the Atlanta Falcons current cap situation to the four teams that just played in the AFC and NFC championship games, you begin to understand why the Falcons are in cap hell.

Look at the comparison for the top five players from a contract standpoint on each team and what they collectively take-up of their team’s total cap availability.

Currently, the Atlanta Falcons five highest players take up a total of 66 percent of the projected cap space. Those players – Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Grady Jarrett, Jake Matthews, and Dante Fowler Jr.

Seemingly, Dimitroff did almost everything right.

He made sure to pay his two highly productive future Hall of Fame players, paid his left tackle that is supposed to protect his franchise quarterback, locked up the defensive tackle that is among the game’s best, and then he paid an edge rusher coming off his best season since being a first-round pick.

Hindsight being what it is, Dante Fowler’s contract is awful and something that they should give serious thought to ridding themselves of.