Falcons addressed Gervon Dexter's contract situation before it became an issue

Through three weeks of the 2026 season, Gervon Dexter has been one of the best defensive tackles in football. He's been living in the backfield and is the main reason why the Atlanta Falcons are currently leading the NFL in pressure rate and are third in pass-rush win rate. So of course, this is someone the Falcons want to ensure sticks around long-term.

When Atlanta acquired him from Chicago a couple of weeks ago, they knew this could happen. He was entering a contract year, so the idea of having to pay him a big-money extension crossed their minds, and with the way he was playing, the Falcons decided they could no longer wait to do so.

Adam Schefter reported the Falcons are backing up the brinks truck for the fourth-year man. They're reportedly signing him to a four-year, $78 million extension with $46.5 million guaranteed after just three games with the team, so you just know this new regime isn't messing around about having Dexter in their long-term plans.

And it's not like they have a choice anymore. He'll now be under contract through 2031. Dexter's contract has a $19.5 million average annual value, which will make him the 21st-highest paid defensive tackle in football, which feels cheap for a player who's been as productive as he has.

The Atlanta Falcons are signing Gervon Dexter to a four-year extension

See, here's the thing. As I mentioned, this was always going to be something for Ian Cunningham to consider. Cunningham helped draft him with the Bears and gave up a fifth-round pick and Clark Phillips III to bring him to Atlanta a couple of weeks ago, so there was no way he was letting him go.

Besides, the longer the Falcons waited to put pen to paper, whether that be days, weeks, or months, the more expensive this deal was going to get. Through just three weeks, Dexter is currently eighth in the NFL with a 20.5% QB pressure rate, and he's tied for seventh in the league with 14 pressures through three weeks, which is also second among interior defensive linemen.

That's the sort of player where if he continues wreaking havoc, his price tag will keep going up. Every single game he's been getting to the quarterback, and was especially great against the Packers. There was one rep where he gave chase to Jordan Love which forced an errant throw on fourth down.

Cunningham was proactive by signing all three of Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts to long-term extensions this summer, and Dexter's contract all but confirms that this trend will continue. Rather than wait until the last possible minute, this regime wants to put their cap space to good

Young, disruptive interior defenders are incredibly hard to find, so locking one down through 2031 is the right move. The breakout star out of Florida has elevated the defensive line plenty without Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr., so if this is how he's performing as a pass-rusher now, there's no telling what he'll do once they're back and offenses can't focus on him as much.

Ian Cunningham saw the impact Gervon Dexter Sr. was making on the defense across these last three games and decided he could not take the chance on waiting to get a deal done. Even if he waited until after the season or so, this was a price that was going it up, so you have to credit the Atlanta Falcons for bringing out the checkbook and dealing with this before it became an issue.

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