Ranking the three most important UFA’s the Atlanta Falcons need to re-sign

Dec 27, 2020; Kansas City, MO, USA; Atlanta Falcons strong safety Keanu Neal (22) celebrates with teammates after an interception against the Kansas City Chiefs in the first half of a NFL game at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

#1: SS Keanu Neal

Of all the interior free agents, this one is the most important.

Keanu Neal was the Atlanta Falcons’ first-round pick in 2016, and he made an immediate impact as a thumper. That hit on Willie Snead in Week 17?

Priceless.

Unfortunately for Neal, after a modest 2017 campaign, the injury bug decided to rear its ugly head. In the first game of the 2018 season, in the very same place the previous season ended, Neal completely tore his ACL and was ruled out for the year.

And what is said about an ACL injury? It’s usually the precursor to a more severe injury: to the Achilles tendon.

Lo and behold, that’s what happened to Neal in2019. After two decent games, he made one cut against the Colts, and there went his Achilles, ending that campaign.

So it makes sense to think that, in 2020, he’d have a harder road back than most.

Those thinking that would be wrong. Neal ended up playing in 15 of the 16 games this year for the Atlanta Falcons, compiling 100 tackles (third-best on the team according to Pro Football Reference), one sack, one fumble recovery, and one interception against the Chiefs (which is still surprising how Atlanta and Tampa gave that team the most fits):

https://twitter.com/AtlantaFalcons/status/1343267547542675459?s=20

As previously mentioned, a report by FanSided’s Jets department The Jet Press stated that the Jets might be inclined to pursue Neal in free agency. This is only further strengthened by the fact that former Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich is now the DC under Robert Saleh, so to reunite with him is a tempting offer.

However, if Neal does wish to reunite with someone he knows, Dallas could also give him a call. After all, their new defensive coordinator might have something to say about Keke considering he’s the one who drafted him.

That said, Atlanta desperately needs to keep this guy around. Now that they’ve released fan favorite (and internal favorite), Ricardo Allen, to save $6.5 million in cap space, the team is working towards possibly having money to offer him.

While the cheap method is to, yes, pull the injury card in negotiations, that possibility can be brought up by other teams who’d prefer to draft a safety in either this year or the future. That can help out with Atlanta.