Yesterday the Atlanta Falcons announced that they released tight end Jonnu Smith, and even though Jonnu was an effective player for the Falcons last season a new head coach, new play caller, and new offensive scheme results in Atlanta moving on from the tight end they traded for last offseason.
However, the release of Smith isn’t just about a change in scheme. Atlanta saved around six million dollars in cap space by releasing Jonnu, and that’s not the only move that will save them cap space. Earlier today The Morning Shift crunched the numbers, broke down the Falcons salary cap, and figured out just how much money Atlanta will have to spend in free agency next month.
There’s a very good chance the Falcons will end up cutting Taylor Heinicke, saving another six million dollars in cap space, and leaving themselves with somewhere between 30 to 38 million dollars in cap space to play with, depending on how much cap space they want to have going into the 2024-25 season. The bottom line is don’t be surprised if you hear a lot of free agents linked to the Falcons because unlike years past they will have the money to be big spenders in March when free agency gets kicked off.