Atlanta Falcons 2021 offseason expectations: O-Line
By Andrew Ross
Time to make a splash?
The Atlanta Falcons have two interesting players hitting FA this off-season. As mentioned above Mack should be headed out of town as he’ll undoubtedly receive better offers from teams with more money to spend.
Matt Gono has been an interesting and versatile backup for the Atlanta Falcons for the last two years. He was serviceable in four starts in 2020 and his contract should be reasonable. It would be a smart move to bring him back as the team’s swing tackle.
With guard being the primary focus there are several interesting options available in free agency. At the top of this list is Joe Thuney. Thuney has spent all five years as a pro in New England.
The other big name in the guard pool is Brandon Scherff. Scherff has spent all six seasons in the league with Washington.
News recently came out that the Football Team is working on bringing Scherff back long term, if a deal isn’t worked out there’s a good chance they’ll use the franchise tag a second time.
While these two are the cream of the crop they will take in the ballpark of $15 million a year to get under contract. If the Falcons get aggressive they can make a deal work by signing them for multiple years and pushing the cap hit further out.
After the top two are a slew of affordable options that could fill a hole at the left guard.
The level of play would be close to what Carpenter has been providing but the contract could be more team-friendly in the short term.