It hasn't been talked about it much, but the Atlanta Falcons are in the midst of gutting their special teams core from the ground up. Under new special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman, the Falcons signed Nick Folk and Jake Bailey to be their new kicker-punter tandem, but the changes aren't over.
Since Aukernan brought in two guys he's already familiar with, that left the previous special teams tandem on the outside looking in. Pro Bowl return specialist KhaDarel Hodge was cut, and the Falcons prepared for the expectation that both Zane Gonzalez and Bradley Pinion sign elsewhere.
Thankfully they acted fast, as that expectations are finally becoming a reality. After a strong showing down the stretch, Gonzalez signed with the Miami Dolphins last week, and weirdly enough, Pinion is following suit, as Mike Garafolo reported that the Dolphins also agreed to terms on a deal with him.
Are we sure that the Dolphins watched Atlanta's 2025 special teams? It was one of the worst units in the NFL, so I'm not sure this is what you want to emulate. It got Marquice Williams fired, so even though Pinion was decent and Gonzalez was good, the Dirty Birds are better off entering a new era.
The Miami Dolphins are looking to copy the Atlanta Falcons' special teams blueprint
In his short time with the Falcons, Gonzalez made 19 of his 22 field goals, but Pinion made more of a long-term impact. The 31-year-old has been with Atlanta since 2022 and was named a first-time captain in 2025, so the biggest loss about losing a player like this is the locker room impact of it.
The 2015 fifth-round pick has spent time with the 49ers and Bucs before landing with the Falcons, so now he'll be returning to Florida. But he'll also be reuniting with Gonzalez, the guy he held kicks for down the stretch in 2025 and will be competing with Riley Patterson for Miami's starting kicker job.
As the starting punter in Miami, Pinion will be replacing Bailey, who left to follow Aukerman to Atlanta on a three-year deal. That adds another layer to this coincidence, but it's funny that Aukerman and Chase Blackburn have the Falcons in a better spot than Williams ever did with Williams and Gonzalez.
The Falcons are in the midst of finally turning over a new leaf until Kevin Stefanski and Ian Cunningham, but most of the attention has been directed to the offensive changes, mainly at QB, but they are well on their way to fixing a special teams unit that was the most inconsistent in the NFL.