Did the Atlanta Falcons make the right decision extending Jake Matthews?

Two of the biggest decisions of the Atlanta Falcons’ off-season were the extensions handed to Grady Jarrett and Jake Matthews. Two players who have been part of the Atlanta Falcons core over the last five years. Jarrett is a stalwart in the Atlanta defense and is a player to build the defensive line around.

Jake Matthews has continued to be one of the few positives along an Atlanta Falcons offensive line that often did nothing more than blocking the air in front of them. Extending Matthews was without a doubt a move Atlanta had to make and should be followed by an extension to right guard Chris Lindstrom.

The Falcons are still searching for three more answers on the offensive line and cannot afford to lose the two players they know they can count on. Matthews’ new contract will keep the left guard in Atlanta through the 2026 season with his highest salary topping out at $15.5-million. In comparison to the top left tackles in football Jake’s contract is a relative bargain. The San Fransisco 49ers locked up left tackle Trent Williams recently with his contract topping out at a quarterback level number making $32-million in the final year of his deal.

Atlanta re-signing Jake was the right move for the team in the short and long term. Opening up more cap space this past off-season and keeping Matthews in Atlanta on a relatively team-friendly deal.

Matthews is still only thirty-years-old leaving plenty of reason to think he should still have at least five good years of football ahead of him.  More than enough time for the Falcons to find an answer at quarterback and return to playoff relevance.

Part of any rebuild is deciding who the building blocks will be for the next generation of Atlanta Falcons. Making Jake Matthews a part of that group was the right decision for a front office that seems to have this team pointing in the right direction.