After reworking Jake Matthews' contract on Wednesday, the Atlanta Falcons managed to save $10.5 million in cap space, which was expected to open the door for Ian Cunningham to make more moves this offseason. That doesn't mean you should expect any splash signings, but Atlanta's not done yet.
For the most part, the Falcons have filled the majority of their needs this offseason, but Cunningham has yet to be satisfied. They have yet to address defensive tackle or cornerback to date, so if their quest to find as many Kevin Stefanski collaborators as possible stays, one man made a lot of sense.
Since the Dirty Birds have lost David Onyemata in free agency, reuniting Stefanski with Dalvin Tomlinson would have been appealing, especially with this new cap space at their disposal. But once again, Atlanta missed out, as per Ian Rapoport, Tomlinson agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth $7.5 million with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Instead of joining Kevin Stefanski with the Atlanta Falcons, Dalvin Tomlinson is joining the Chargers
The Arizona Cardinals released Tomlinson late last week after spending 2025 in them, where he logged a sack and three tackles for loss. Those numbers don't jump off the page, but at 6-foot-3 and 335 pounds, he would have been the perfect battle-tested veteran to work with this young DL.
Knowing how this new regime rolls, the 2017 second-round pick would have been perfect. Not only has he made a career off of being an elite run defender, he made sense as a budget signing, especially for a defense that's looking for players to help them improve their woes against the run.
The Alabama product played for Stefanski in Cleveland in 2023 and 2024, and logged a career-high 18 QB hits in his final season playing for the Browns. So with that in mind, he definitely has a strong connection with the two-time Coach of the Year that should have ignited the spark for a reunion.
The 2017 second-round pick has nearly 400 career tackles and 39 tackles for loss, so he has the experience to easily replace Onyemata at a cheaper price tag. Brandon Dorlus, Zach Harrison, and Ruke Orhorhoro are all good but young, and a more athletic LB group will fix the run defense woes.
Signing Tomlinson would have been a great start-- and quietly one of the best moves of the offseason if were able to follow through. But instead, the Chargers are looking to use him to clog the middle of a defense that was elite in 2025.