Now that they hired Ian Cunningham on Thursday, the Atlanta Falcons' search for a new regime is officially over. Now that one hard part is over, the next is about to begin, as Cunningham and Kevin Stefanski are preparing to make an influx of changes to an elite roster throughout the offseason.
Falcons fans should prepare to see several players with ties to Stefanski and the Browns in Atlanta next season, but the same could be said for Cunningham and Chicago. He'll likely want to bring in guys who fit his vision, especially after the Bears won the NFC North for the first time in seven years.
The 40-year-old could call up his old boss Ryan Poles to swing a trade, but one of the best options comes in free agency. The Dirty Birds badly need help in the secondary, so even though their safety duo isn't an issue, they should look into making a splash to sign Bears safety Jaquan Brisker in March.
The Falcons should look into signing Jaquan Brisker in free agency this offseason
I know what you're probably thinking. This idea makes absolutely no sense. The Falcons already have one of the NFL's better safety duos in Jessie Bates III and rookie Xavier Watts, but Bates is set to hit free agency next offseason and has gradually started to decline across the last couple of seasons.
For the first time in his career, the 26-year-old played in all 17 games for the Bears, and shined. In his first season in Dennis Allen's defensive system, Brisker logged 93 total tackles, eight pressures, and eight passes defensed, productive numbers that were overshadowed by Kevin Byard's seven picks.
Brisker and Byard will both be free agents this offseason and the Bears aren't going to dedicate this much cap space to paying two different safeties. At least in Atlanta's case, Watts is on a rookie contract, but this begs the question if Bates or Brisker is the superior long-term investment.
The 2022 second-round pick surpassed 100 tackles in each of his first two NFL seasons, but Bates is arguably the better ball-hawking safety, especially when in tandem with Watts, who nabbed five picks in his rookie season. But his future in Atlanta is starting to come into serious question as it stands.
Spotrac projects Brisker's market value at three years and $33.3 million, which would see him earn roughly $11.1 million per season. Spotrac also compared Talanoa Hufanga's three-year $39 million with Denver as a good benchmark for what the Penn State product could receive in free agency.
The fourth-year safety will definitely cash in this offseason and it's worth exploring for the Falcons, even if they roll with their current safety tandem as expected.