With more than half the team expected to hit free agency next week, the Atlanta Falcons and their new regime will be incredibly busy in March as the NFL Draft looms in late April.
Atlanta has a new coach in Kevin Stefanski and a new general manager in Ian Cunningham. They'll have their work cut out for them as they try to acquire a veteran quarterback, upgrade a woefully short on talent wide receiver room, add depth at linebacker and in the defensive backfield, and generally improve the depth of the squad.
Contact period for free agency begins on March 9th, and that's when pending deals will start getting leaked to the public ahead of March 11th when players can officially sign with new teams.
Teams begin making moves with their own players well in advance, and the Falcons are no exception. They've already taken tight end Kyle Pitts off the free agent board by placing their franchise tag on him. The franchise tag gives him a one-year, fully-guaranteed $15.1 million contract.
The Falcons also confirmed they will cut quarterback Kirk Cousins before March 13th and take on $35 million in dead money. That salary cap hit can be spread across two seasons and is subject to a rebate of up to $10 million if Cousins signs with another team. Cousins' total compensation from the Falcons would be two years and $90 million, being named the worst free agent contract of all-time by BetGM.
It was also reported that Falcons' special teams ace KhaDarel Hodge would not be back on his $3.3 million salary. A fan favorite, he was scheduled to be in the top 20 of the Falcons' highest-paid players.
The Falcons currently have $8.9 million in available salary cap space, placing them 17th among NFL teams. They can quickly clear up $50 million, but Cousins is going to take a piece of that with him when he's cut.
Atlanta Falcons Free Agency News and Rumors
3/3 It's not just Kirk Cousins that is a high-dollar cut about to happen. The Cardinals are heavily rumored to be moving on from Kyler Murray. Naturally, the Falcons are linked with every veteran quarterback who can still walk and chew gum at the same time.
3/1 ESPN's Jeremy Fowler was told by an NFL Coach to "watch for Tua (Tagovailoa) in Atlanta"
3/1 That same piece has Kaden Elliss going from the Falcons to the Panthers.
2/28 Atlanta has been a popular prediction for Broncos' DL John Franklin-Myers. However, the price tag on him could be in the $20 million range.
Atlanta Falcons 2026 Free Agents
Name Position Status
Dee Alford CB
Tyler Allgeier RB
Troy Andersen LB
Natrone Brooks CB
Kirk Cousins QB Expected Release by 3/11
Arnold Ebiketie Edge
Kaden Elliss LB
Leonard Floyd Edge
Feleipe Franks TE
Elijah Garcia DL
Zane Gonzalez K
Jovaughn Gwyn OL
Ronnie Harrison S
Malik Heath WR
Khalid Kareem Edge
KhaDarel Hodge WR Pending Release
LaCale London DL
DeAngelo Malone Edge
David Onyemata DL
Bradley Pinion P
Kyle Pitts TE Franchise Tag
Teagan Quitoriano TE
Sam Roberts DL
David Sills WR
Easton Stick QB
Kentavius Street DL
Tyrone Wheatley Jr. OL
Elijah Wilkinson OL
Josh Woods LB
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