The Falcons find themselves in the midst of a rebuild with almost every bloated contract from the former regime off the books. Even though Jake Matthews will play in 2022 under the contract Thomas Dimitroff handed him, Terry Fontenot has already extended the stalwart left tackle. The only bad contract left is Deion Jones, who has been the subject of several trade scenarios. There’s no doubt Atlanta would like his money off their salary cap.
Grady Jarrett is a different story. He’s in the last year of a fairly reasonable deal, but given the team’s current state, it isn’t ridiculous to ponder trading the former Clemson Tiger either. However, reports from Albert Breer state that the Falcons are currently trying to work out a contract extension. Just about every person in a leadership position has stated their desire to have Jarrett in Atlanta.
“Absolutely, we love Grady. He’s a great leader, great player. Grady makes the whole thing better,” Arthur Blank said on the Dukes and Bell show. “So, we’re working hard to try and make that happen.”
“I’m not going to predict that I 100 percent know,” Arthur Smith said. “He knows where we stand. We love Grady. We also know that players may have their own opinions, and that’s welcome. It’s part of doing business. We’ll see how it plays out. I love Grady and we’d love to keep coaching him.”
Even if the Falcons want to extend Jarrett, it doesn’t make sense. He will be 29-years-old by the start of the 2022 season and will undoubtedly seek a lucrative, multi-year deal. The Falcons’ timeline just doesn’t match up with Jarrett’s prime and contract term. The market would be robust for a player of Jarrett’s caliber, so the Falcons would be wise to cash in on the former All-Pro, which is exactly what Bleacher Report has them doing in their latest trade proposal:
Deal: Browns get DT Grady Jarrett; Falcons get pick No. 99, 2023 third-round pick
The Cleveland Browns went all-in on winning now with their trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Continuing to build for 2022 should be the play, and bargain-shopping for a solid veteran makes the most sense.
Their most pressing hole is at defensive tackle, as the rotation of Taven Bryan, Jordan Elliott and Tommy Togiai lacks reliability. Calling the rebuilding Falcons about soon-to-be 29-year-old tackle Grady Jarrett can be mutually beneficial.
Atlanta is in the midst of creating flexibility after trading receiver Julio Jones and quarterback Matt Ryan over the last year. Getting two middle-round picks and shedding Jarrett’s $23.8 million salary-cap hit in the final year of his deal would free up $16.5 million.
Cleveland, which has $19.9 million in cap space, can open a considerable amount of cap space to afford Jarrett. Between trading quarterback Baker Mayfield and possible extensions for David Njoku and Denzel Ward, affording Jarrett would be easy. His addition could give the Browns the league’s best overall roster.
Two third-rounders for a former All-Pro approaching 30-years-old who also needs a new contract seems reasonable. A second and fourth would be better, but I’d still explore the prospect of netting what is likely two top-100 draft picks. Unless the Falcons see themselves seriously competing in two or three years, they should absolutely not extend Jarrett.
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