Drew Dalman has held down the center position for the Atlanta Falcons since being drafted out of Stanford. He has been a big part of a reliable, consistent offensive line that has excelled at run blocking these past few years.
The Falcons have already paid big money to LT Jake Matthews, RG Chris Lindstrom, and RT Kaleb McGary, but you can't pay all five guys due to salary cap restraints.
Dalman is an impending free agent and reports have said he is ready to land a massive contract. Unfortunately, it sounds like that contract won't be with the team that drafted him as they will instead bring back their restricted free agent backup
Falcons will reportedly let Drew Dalman walk in favor of Ryan Neuzil, and that is the right decision
NFL rosters are a balancing act; teams have to skimp at certain positions so they can pay others. For the Atlanta Falcons, it appears that position will be at center. ESPN's Dan Graziano said the following in a recent article.
"The Falcons are prepared to lose center Drew Dalman in free agency. They'd like to have him back but are concerned he can get more money elsewhere. They feel good, though, about tendering restricted free agent center Ryan Neuzil and making him the Dalman replacement, which he was during the 2024 season when Dalman missed time due to injury."
While it would be nice to keep the same starting five, this would be the correct decision. Another ESPN writer, Jeremy Fowley, mentions Creed Humphrey's $72 million contract in the next paragraph. While he says Dalman won't top that, the fact he even mentioned it says a lot.
There have been other reports saying his price will reach $20 million per year. That is simply not worth it for this team specifically, especially when you have restricted free agent Ryan Neuzil sitting there.
Neuzil has seen plenty of playing time since entering the league and has always played great. This would be a no-brainer, especially with needs all over the defense.
For Dalman, to re-sign with the Falcons, it would take a significant hometown discount. Players deserve to be paid what they are worth and we have seen how excellent he is. I will just say, he needs to prioritize signing with a run-first team -- he hasn't been a great pass blocker.
It has been rumored that the Green Bay Packers and/or the Houston Texans will pursue him. Those would be two great landing spots for him.