Atlanta Falcons Clear Cap Space With Linebacker Contract Restructure

Despite a devastating collapse to the New Orleans Saints in Week 1, the Atlanta Falcons are feeling feisty. ESPN's Field Yates announced the team cleared a substantial $6.8 million in cap space with a restructure of linebacker Deion Jones's contract:

A couple of contract restructures for cap space:

-Lions converted $4M of DT Michael Brockers' salary into a bonus for $2M

-Falcons converted $8.5M of LB Deion Jones’ salary into a bonus (with 3 void years added) for $6.8M. Jones get his salary payout sooner as part of the deal
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 13, 2022

The move could push the Falcons significantly under the cap, as they already began the day with more than $9.5 million to spare according to overthecap.com. Teams typically like to keep a cushion early in the regular season in case they need to replace injured players, but a restructuring of this size may indicate the Falcons have bigger plans after playing surprisingly competitive football against the Saints in Week 1.

The Falcons entered Week 1 after a tumultuous offseason that saw them jettison their long-time starting quarterback Matt Ryan. The team was projected as one of the league's worst, but replacement Marcus Mariota flashed some promise in his debut, throwing for 215 yards through the air and adding another 72 yards on the ground. If the front office believes in him and head coach Arthur Smith, it could make sense to add some talent ahead of the trade deadline.

The Falcons travel to face the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2.