3 Things that cutting Casey Hayward changes for the Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons cut veteran corner Casey Hayward late last week a move that saves $5 million in cap space opening up the possibility of another move in free agency. The signing of Hayward will go down as one of the few busts by Terry Fontenot with the first year of the contract marred by injury and Hayward being cut due to not making enough progress post-injury.

The door could be open to Hayward returning at some point if Atlanta's young corners don't take the next step and Hayward is able to get healthy. This move always made a level of sense when you consider the fact that it saves $5 million against the cap compared to only $2 million in dead cap for a player in his mid-thirties coming off of a serious injury.

It is clear that Jerry Gray and Ryan Nielsen want to put their own stamp on this defense and many of the pieces that Dean Pees featured have been replaced or moved into lesser roles. Atlanta added to the corner position twice already this off-season adding Mike Hughes and Jeff Okudah. Despite these additions cutting Casey Hayward changes the outlook on the Atlanta secondary opening the door for Atlanta to surprise fans on draft night.