A few weeks ago, the Atlanta Falcons were dealing a dilemma in their edge room. All three of Samson Ebukam, Cameron Thomas, and Za'Darius Smith are set to be free agents after the season, and given they've all performed well for a shorthanded pass-rush, they all had merit to be extended long-term.
In a perfect world, the Falcons would be able to keep all three of them, but this is the real world. Tough decisions are going to have to be made, and Ian Cunningham finally answered that growing question as Atlanta signed Thomas to a three-year extension worth up to $33 million on Friday morning.
After starting the season on prove-it deals, Thomas and C.J. Henderson landed new contracts, but the terms of Thomas' new extension are interesting. He only received $13 million guaranteed and his deal is heavily incentivized, so his extension isn't exactly a death knell to extending Smith or Ebukam.
Between the two edge rushers who are still looking for fresh paydays, I would venture to say that Smith has a much better shot of being retained, as even after Cameron Thomas got paid, it's clear he's still a quality depth piece.
The Atlanta Falcons still have the cap space to extend Za'Darius Smith
The 34-year-old signed with the Falcons just weeks before the season, has had to pick up the system as the season went on, and just came out of retirement after some major losses in his personal life. Yet he has still managed to be the most productive pass-rusher off the edge this team's had in 2026.
No. 55 currently leads the team with 4.5 sacks at the midway point, and has stepped up for a pass-rush in desperate need of any sort of additional contributions. So that's been nice, since James Pearce Jr. is still ramping up from his suspension and back injury and Jalon Walker is out for the year.
Za'Darius Smith has embraced Atlanta, both as a leader in the locker room and on the field. The Falcons were Smith's late mother's favorite team and he came out of retirement to play for this team (and reunite with Kevin Stefanski), even spurning the Browns to do so--and he'll be rewarded as such.
The Dirty Birds are in a position where even though Pearce and Walker will be the starting pass-rushers next season, Smith and Cameron Thomas will still have a role. They still need rotational contributors, so if he would take a deal similar to the terms of Thomas', I'm sure he will likely be back.
I can't imagine the three-time Pro Bowler going anywhere given he genuinely wants to be here, and Ian Cunningham should want him back as well. Having him as veteran mentorship for the younger defensive linemen is invaluable, so if he'd accept like $8 or $9 million a year, that would be huge value.
Even after Cameron Thomas got paid, Za'Darius Smith could very well be next in line, because you can never have too many quality pass-rushers in this business.
Add us as a preferred source on Google