The salary cap has been a hot topic for the Atlanta Falcons all offseason. Flirting near the bottom of the league in terms of total cap space, the team did make some moves to get into a better cap position to sign free agents and better position themselves for the upcoming 2025 NFL draft.
One of the team's controversial yet necessary moves was releasing veteran Grady Jarrett at the start of free agency. While this freed up over $16 million in cap space, the Falcons didn't stop there. Additionally, the team extended left tackle Jake Matthews' contract and restructured guard Chris Lindstrom's deal.
Matthews reduced his 2025 cap hit by adding two years to his current contract (2027 and 2028), and will see a hefty cap hit for each of his last three seasons. Already set to see a guaranteed salary of $16 million in 2026, Mathews will see that number expand to $18 million in 2027 and $19 million in 2028. By the time the 2028 season comes around, Matthews will be 36 years old. The veteran left tackle freed up roughly $8.5 million in cap space for 2025.
As for Lindstrom, the team reduced his 2025 cap hit by $10 million by increasing the remaining years of contract by $2.5 million. This is because the Falcons converted $12.5 million of his salary cap and gave it to him as a signing bonus. While this is typically paid up front, for accounting purposes with the salary cap, the team is allowed to break that up over the remaining years of his deal including 2025.
While Lindstrom's cap hit over the remaining years of his contract sits in the mid $20 million range, it's not tied to guaranteed money. Lindstrom does have double digit salary figures, but the prorated signing bonuses are the reason for the inflated cap hit -- excluding 2029 due to it being a voided year. This gives the team some cap flexibility if Atlanta ends up having to move Lindstrom.
Overall, the Falcons currently have $10.6 million in available cap space. This is a far cry from where they were weeks ago when free agency kicked off. This $10 million doesn't do much to bring in players now, but does help with the draft and in the event they may want to trade for a player. We saw two trades late into the offseason last year, so don't rule out another
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