Tyler Allgeier is a good running back who has been stuck sitting behind a great one the last three seasons. Because of Bijan Robinson, he was never going to be any more of a complimentary option for the Atlanta Falcons, which is precisely why Allgeier took the opportunity to leave in free agency.
Shortly after the NFL's legal tampering period opened up, Allgeier agreed to terms with the Arizona Cardinals on a two-year $12.25 million contract. This is a bit of a stunner, since several teams were linked to him in the RB market, but the Cardinals weren't one of them after retaining James Conner.
Apparently, he could make over $8 million per year on this new contract since it comes with a max value of $16.25 million if all incentives are hit. So even if the opportunity may be harder to come by, he certainly found a way to cash in, which he certainly deserves. Now Atlanta needs to replace him.
The 25-year-old was always expected to leave the Falcons this offseason, and is now joining another bird team that wears red and black: just a different shade of red. The only issue here is that he'll be sharing snaps with both Conner and Trey Benson in new coach Mike LaFleur's offense in Arizona.
Tyler Allgeier is leaving the Falcons to join the Arizona Cardinals
The 2022 fourth-round pick rushed for over 1,000 yards as a rookie, and also recorded a career-high eight rushing touchdowns in 2025 while still playing behind Bijan. So theres no telling what he could have accomplished in an expanded role, but instead, he is now a part of a three-man committee.
This makes absolutely no sense for a guy who had a prime opportunity to make a positive career move. It's one thing to leave Atlanta and pursue an expanded role or take your chances as an RB1 with another team, but instead, it'll be even harder for him to earn snaps in an improving offense.
Both Benson and Conner are coming off of season-ending injuries, and the latter is on the wrong side of 30, so perhaps I'm just underestimating what his role could be. The tandem of Benson and Allgeier makes a lot of sense on paper, especially since the third-year back is an explosive home-run hitter.
Odds are that he eventually assumes Conner's role as the short-yardage , goal-line back and thrives, as evidenced by his career-high eight rushing touchdowns in 2025. Hopefully this type of gamble works out for him, because I don't know of any Falcons fans who don't want to see the BYU product succeed with this next chapter. Hopefully LaFleur does him right.