Will the Atlanta Falcons move on from Kaleb McGary this offseason?

The Atlanta Falcons have one of the best offensive lines in the league with strong run blocking and outside of one position solid pass protection. Jake Matthews, Matthew Bergeron, Drew Dalman, and Chris Lindstrom are all solid building blocks that are under contract beyond just this season.

Atlanta's only question mark is at right tackle a year after choosing to pay Kaleb McGary based on a career year. That decision can obviously be questioned after what was a step in the wrong direction for Kaleb in the 2023 season.

There is an easy argument to make that the team was better when McGary was out due to injury and his backup was forced to step in. This leads to the obvious question could the Falcons choose to move on from Kaleb McGary this offseason?

Answering this question comes down not to how easy it is to replace McGary but what the cap implications would be. There is no chance that the Falcons will simply cut McGary, doing so would result in a $9.5-million dollar dead cap hit.

Kaleb isn't a possible roster cut and with a trade partner being very unlikely the easy path is leaving Kaleb as the starter and hoping he returns to 2022 form. Atlanta cannot move on from the right tackle until the 2025 season when his $2-million dollar dead cap hit is far easier to swallow.

Atlanta's offensive line is one of the strongest parts of their roster and despite McGary will be leaned on in the 2024 season. Moving on from Kaleb this season could still happen but they will give the tackle the chance to prove himself first benching McGary only if they have no other choice.

Terry Fontenot has made few mistakes as the Atlanta GM with the deal looking to be a clear exception. Atlanta fans must remain patient, however, with at least one year of Kaleb McGary as a starter remaining.