The Atlanta Falcons have made their first internal contract extension of the offseason.
Atlanta signed long snapper Liam McCullough to a four-year contract extension, the team announced in a press release Thursday. No financial details were released for McCullough, who was set to be a restricted free agent.
An undrafted free agent out of Ohio State in 2020 who spent time on practice squads with the Las Vegas Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers, McCullough has played in all 51 games since signing with the Falcons in 2022. McCullough has been on the field for 401 special teams snaps across three seasons.
By retaining McCullough, Falcons team reporter Terrin Waack noted Atlanta will "retain (its) core special teams unit in 2025," citing the group of McCullough, kicker Younghoe Koo and punter Bradley Pinion.
Koo's future was brought into question after an injury-riddled and struggle-filled 2024 season in which he missed nine field goals and was only 18 of 27 on field goals longer than 30 yards.
Nevertheless, Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said Atlanta will bring in competition across its roster this offseason, an answer he delivered in response to a question specifically about Koo. So, the Falcons will likely add another kicker to push Koo at some point this offseason.
But with McCullough extended and both Koo and Pinion under contract for next season, Falcons special teams coordinator Marquice Williams appears poised to have the same trio in place for the fourth consecutive campaign.
"It's rare to have the continuity because for each position, there's only 32 spots for each position," Williams said during the 2024 season. "They work well together. There's three different guys, three different personalities, but they all understand each other.
"They all understand how they operate, how important their job is for one another and how they directly correlate to the other person's success. So it's been a blessing having all three of those guys ... and I still think their best ball is yet to come."
The Falcons certainly hope so.