The Atlanta Falcons should want to retain Kaden Elliss in free agency, but as we have inched closer to the start of free agency, the more unlikely this has become. That in itself has Ian Cunningham staring down an unconfortable reality, but his rumored landing spot just added salt to the wound.
In a pre-free agency report from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, he dropped an interesting nugget surrounding Elliss' free agent market. We already knew that he was expected to have a robust market, but two of the teams that are heavily involved in the Elliss sweepstakes come with ties to the Falcons.
"Linebacker Kaden Elliss has fans around the league among the previous staffs he has played for: San Francisco (defensive coordinator Raheem Morris) and Cleveland (defensive coordinator Mike Rutenburg), among others."Jeremy Fowler
Fowler named both the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns as teams to watch for the 30-year-old, and both teams have notable connections to the Dirty Birds. As you all know by now, the 49ers hired Raheem Morris as their new defensive coordinator, while ex-Falcons defensive pass game coordinator Mike Rutenberg is the new DC in Cleveland.
Two former Falcons' coaches are interested in stealing Kaden Elliss away from Atlanta
The Falcons have been at risk of losing several key contributors to San Francisco for weeks now, but the Browns are coming out of left field. Aside from Dee Alford, I wasnt expecting Rutenberg to pursue many of Atlanta's top free agents, but after he had a front row seat to Elliss' impact as the green dot, it's hard to blame him.
Fowler also mentioned that not only are the Browns looking to sign the Idaho product, they're looking at him as a potential replacement for Devin Bush, who had a breakout season in 2025 but the 27-year-old is expected to leave in free agency, and the former first-rounder will be a hot commodity in league circles.
Frankly, seeing Elliss leave for Cleveland would sting a bit, especially since Jeff Ulbrich would love to have him back. But to see him follow Rutenberg to the team Atlanta hired Kevin Stefanski away from would be the cherry on top, especially since retaining him should be the top priority starting Monday.
However, Morris is a whole nother story. The 49-year-old has been a thorn in the Falcons' side since Kyle Shanahan hired him, especially since his Niners will be interested in virtually every free agent defender Atlanta is at risk of losing. It's almost like he's this flea that won't stop terrorizing the picnic.
The 49ers already have Fred Warner, so even though he had season-ending surgery, they're looking at finding him a running mate since they clearly miss Dre Greenlaw. So naturally, their new DC will want to reunite with the quarterback of his defense in Atlanta, but that doesn't make this any less annoying.
Losing Elliss would be one thing, but allowing Morris to pair him up with a four-time All-Pro would be beyond frustrating. Replacing him will be a tall task, so if Atlanta's financial situation has them sitting idly by while their ex-head coach ravages the defense by stealing a captain would be terrible.
Thankfully, these aren't the only two teams involved, so if he does end up leaving the Falcons as expected, hopefully he foregoes both of these two potential suitors and his new landing spot isn't in the NFC South.