On Thursday, the Falcons signed P Bradley Pinion to a one-year deal.
Coming out of Clemson as a fifth-round pick in 2015 and being the only punter drafted that season, the 28-year-old Pinion spent his first five seasons in NFL with the San Francisco 49ers before entering free-agency and signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 2019 season.
After the Falcons struck special teams gold with the signing of former Saints P Thomas Morstead in Week 12 during the 2021 season, the Falcons were able to give opponents the second-worst starting field position after his acquisition. Morstead signed with the Miami Dolphins after the Falcons decided to move on from the former All-Pro during this past offseason.
Pinion was entering the final year of his deal with the Bucs with a base salary of $2.9 million when the team decided to cut him loose last week, leaving the Falcons in prime position to snag one of the most consistent punters in the league
Obviously, for Pinion, playing with the team led by Tom Brady will put a huge dent in your punting average. Pinion has seen his total punts for the season drop by almost half compared to his time in San Francisco but he still averages 44-yards per punt over the course of his career.
With the release of P Dom Maggio this week, the starting punter job looks to be Pinion’s to lose. The only other punter on the roster for the Falcons is Seth Vernon, who stands 6’5” and 230 lbs but has never laid a foot on the pigskin in a regular season NFL game.
With the loss of LB Foye Oluokon and a defensive front-seven that is definitely unproven, as well as a defensive backfield that is currently ranked 22nd according to Pro Football Focus despite having standout cornerback A.J. Terrell, Isaiah Oliver and the signing of Casey Hayward from Las Vegas, it seems like being able to have control of the opponents starting field positon is going to be detrimental to the success of the Falcons offense this coming season.
