1. Grady Jarrett
The future of Grady Jarrett is one of the more interesting decisions facing the Atlanta Falcons during the 2025 offseason. Jarrett has long been a beloved figure in Atlanta and only Jake Matthews is the longer tenured Falcon. Note since Jarrett's first two seasons in the league has the team been in the playoffs or anywhere close to contention? For a long time, the lineman was an underrated contributor and continued to find ways to make winning plays.
However, the defender took a step back this season and is one of the highest paid Falcons next season. Cutting Jarrett opens up a huge chunk of cap space. Opting to keep or move on from the defender is a no-win situation. The best way this could play out is by re-working his deal to create more cap space and keep his leadership.
The flip side to this is the fact Atlanta's defense was awful in the final two games of the season. The Falcons had to win both games and their defense wasn't anything close to capable. How many seasons has this been the case with Grady Jarrett anchoring the middle? It is fair to wonder how much worse things could really get.