4 Atlanta Falcons who could follow Mariota out the door

1. Casey Hayward

Cutting Casey Hayward would save the Atlanta Falcons a projected $5 million against the cap and give the team more flexibility to add a corner they can rely on. Hayward has a great resume but spent the majority of his first season in Atlanta injured and was unable to make the expected impact alongside A.J. Terrell.

Now a year after the signing Atlanta is going to have to weigh what they can expect from Casey in his mid-thirties coming off of a serious injury vs. saving $5 million in cap space. With the focus on adding talent to the defensive line and pass rush, there is an argument to be made for keeping Hayward and bringing back Isaiah Oliver allowing this secondary a year to improve with a better pass rush and a coaching upgrade in Ryan Nielsen and Jerry Gray.

Hayward is a player that could swing either way depending on what Atlanta finds in free agency and how the draft falls. His future isn’t as clear as Mariota’s was but the corner is without question at the top of the list of possible cuts to create cap space this off-season.