Ian Cunningham hasn't been the general manager of the Atlanta Falcons for very long yet, but he's already taking no prisoner. The Falcons are already releasing Kirk Cousins at the start of the new league year, but he's not alone, as Cunningham is wheeling and dealing to drum up extra cap space.
The Falcons' special teams were among the worst in the NFL in 2025, but with a new special teams staff coming in, Cunningham and Kevin Stefanski are wasting no time to imprint their own vision on this roster. And that Jordan Schultz report that Atlanta is surprisingly opting to release Pro Bowl special teamer KhaDarel Hodge.
Sources: The #Falcons informed former Pro Bowl special-teamer KhaDarel Hodge that he will be released.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) February 25, 2026
Hodge spent four years in Atlanta, including that Pro Bowl season in 2024. pic.twitter.com/qVEfOvaSnT
Hodge has been with the Dirty Birds for the last four seasons, and was a Pro Bowler in 2024, yet Raheem Morris, in all of his infinite wisdom, thought an injured Jamal Agnew would be a better return specialist. Boy how were he and Marquice Williams wrong in their assessment of the special teams.
The Falcons are making a huge mistake by releasing KhaDarel Hodge
That was a mistake in itself, but I fear that this one won't age well. The old special teams unit was horrible, but it took a step back because Hodge was no longer fielding kicks and punts. It didn't help that he only played in 12 games this season, but he would've been valuable for more than he gave.
Releasing Hodge creates $2.6 million in cap space, so this begs the question: is this worth letting Craig Aukerman bring in a different return man? I am all for granting the new staff the leeway to alter this roster as they see fit, but allowing Pro Bowl talent to leave the building is utterly confusing to me.
The one defense I have of this decision is that the special teams could not possibly get worse than they were under Williams. We saw what happened against the Jets and how inconsistent the field goal kicking was until the Falcons signed Zane Gonzalez, and this doesn't account for kick coverage.
The 31-year-old was a career journeyman before signing with Atlanta in 2022, and wasn't a true special teams ace until then. I'm sure for that reason it won't take him super long to find work this offseason, but regardless, the Falcons need more youth on their special teams unit going forward.
Hopefully, Cunningham and Stefanski are able to put this extra cap space to good use and look closely at Deven Thompkins to replace Hodge.