The Atlanta Falcons would've loved to have re-signed Drew Dalman, but the Chicago Bears offered him way too much money to make it worth it.
Instead, they shifted their focus to Dalman's backup, who played great when given the chance. This hard decision will prove to be Terry Fontenot's smartest move of the offseason.
Ryan Neuzil will fill in nicely for the Atlanta Falcons, especially for his cheap price tag
The Falcons were not in a position to pay their starting center upwards of $14 million per year. They already handed Chris Lindstrom a massive contract, and are paying Jake Matthews and Kaleb McGary big money.
While they could've forced things to keep the starting five, they made the right move by cutting their losses and choosing the cheaper option.
And while Neuzil might be the cheaper option, he isn't a massive downgrade.
Dalman was injured a few times, but we could hardly tell a difference when Neuzil filled in—he played excellently.
The new starter recently signed a two-year deal worth $9.5 million, equating to $4.75M per year.
In other words, the Falcons saved about $10M by making the difficult decision this offseason. That is a home run.
Dalman is a fantastic player, but there is no avoiding the fact that he can get overpowered in pass protection. It has been his weakness since he entered the league.
When you pay a player top-of-the-line money, you want someone who excels in every area. That is not the case for last year's starter, and we could see it get exposed in Ben Johnson's offense.
Also Read: 5 teams that would love to trade for Kyle Pitts
When it is all said and done, I think we will look back at this move and say this was a smart move by Terry Fontenot. The savings of $10M are well worth what is nothing more than a small downgrade on the field.