The Atlanta Falcons have gone on a shopping spree this offseason under the guidance of new general manager Ian Cunningham. In the last few months, they've inked Kyle Pitts, Drake London and now Matthew Bergeron on top-dollar, multi-year extensions.
But one order of business remains for the Dirty Birds to address: Bijan Robinson's long-term contract. The all-world running back has been holding in at training camp to prevent injury, and rightfully so, as he and Jahmyr Gibbs continue their standoff to be the NFL's highest-paid running back.
With Pitts, London and Bergeron under contract through at least the 2028 NFL season, the Falcons' next move after extending the team's star guard is paying Robinson on a market-resetting deal. It just has to happen, and they may as well race ahead of the Detroit Lions and save some cash.
Bijan Robinson is up next after Falcons' Matthew Bergeron extension
Let's look at things from a purely financial perspective. The Falcons had $102.4 million in salary cap space in 2027, according to Over the Cap, before the Bergeron extension. So, with nobody else, other than perhaps Jessie Bates III, worthy of a big deal, the Robinson domino must drop.
This game of cat-and-mouse gets more and more ridiculous by the day, and the Falcons are losing precious time at training camp. Robinson needs these reps to acclimate and prepare for the season, but he isn't getting them because Atlanta's front office is dragging its feet.
Plus, Robinson is learning a new system under Kevin Stefanski and Tommy Rees. With a new quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa likely to start the year as well, there are simply too many moving pieces for Robinson not to be getting as much cohesion time with them as possible.
Now, Falcons fans aren't worried about Robinson not shining once he does get on the field. But as far as the overall offensive operation goes, Atlanta needs things to run smoothly, and not having the centerpiece of the group makes that tough.
Clearly, the Falcons' executives are talking about contracts and are unafraid to move on them at this juncture of the preseason. And while a league-altering deal is a bit different than a run-of-the-mill high-end extension like Bergeron's, Atlanta is playing with a bit of fire.
Bergeron's extension is great, and it continues the Falcons' commitment to building the trenches, as they paid Chris Lindstrom and Jake Matthews last offseason. But now it's time to pay the guy that they're blocking for.
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