![\"Atlanta](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2263324036-e1771957679233.jpg\")
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Falcons GM Ian Cunningham.<\/p>\n
Things have looked a little different with the Atlanta Falcons<\/a> this offseason. They\u2019ve replaced their head coach and much of their front office, not to mention making roster additions through free agency with players like quarterback Tua Tagovailoa<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tagovailoa will likely end up being a critical piece to the puzzle in the first season under new general manager Ian Cunningham and head coach Kevin Stefanski. But that probably won\u2019t tell the whole story \u2014 at least, that\u2019s the hope.<\/p>\n Just how the 2026 season will play out is a mystery with all the major changes. But it\u2019s clear that executives across the league aren\u2019t too impressed with what the Falcons have done so far to fix their team.<\/p>\n NFL Executives Rip Falcons\u2019 Free Agency Moves<\/p>\n The Falcons have signed or re-signed 18 players<\/a> in free agency, yet nearly every move has drawn skepticism.<\/p>\n The Athletic\u2019s Mike Sando<\/a> recently surveyed NFL executives, and none offered a glowing review of Atlanta\u2019s offseason.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is nothing about what they have done that I can say, \u2018That makes sense,\u2019\u201d one exec told Sando.<\/p>\n Another questioned deals like giving 41-year-old kicker Nick Folk<\/a> a two-year, $9 million contract with $4 million guaranteed, along with punter Jake Bailey receiving three years, $9 million with $5 million guaranteed.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that is not a good class. That\u2019s a grab bag of, \u2018We don\u2019t know what we\u2019re doing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Sando noted that this type of feedback was consistent across the executives he spoke with.<\/p>\n Another exec questioned why Atlanta didn\u2019t prioritize keeping linebacker Kaden Elliss<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy are you doing these deals?\u201d the exec said. \u201cIf you are going to pay these guys, why wouldn\u2019t you pay to keep Kaden Elliss? He is 30 years old, but a good player coming off one of his best years. Played like 100 percent of the snaps (99.9 percent), can play multiple spots, can rush, play off the ball. It\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n Did the Falcons Make the Right Moves In Free Agency?<\/p>\n The closest thing to a positive review centered around the addition of Tagovailoa.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the price, you can\u2019t hate on that,\u201d another exec said. \u201cBut overall, it seems like they swapped out guys for guys. They have some talent, but they are not in win-now mode. They are not in tank mode, either. They seem very net neutral.\u201d<\/p>\n The Falcons needed to find a replacement for Kirk Cousins<\/a>, whom they released and will still pay more than $8 million this season<\/a> while he plays for the Las Vegas Raiders<\/a>. They needed a quarterback who could serve as both a backup and a potential starter, especially with uncertainty surrounding Michael Penix<\/a> Jr.\u2019s readiness for Week 1. Tagovailoa fit that need, particularly at a league-minimum price following his release.<\/p>\n As for the signings of Folk and Bailey, Atlanta had clear issues on special teams last season.<\/p>\n The Falcons ranked 24th in field goal percentage (82%), allowed a league-worst 30-yard average on kickoff returns, and ranked 27th in punt average at 45.1 yards.<\/p>\n Those struggles made upgrades necessary.<\/p>\n And when it comes to Elliss, who signed with the New Orleans Saints<\/a> on a three-year, $33 million deal, it appeared from the start that Atlanta was prepared to let him walk.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will see how that goes moving forward,\u201d Cunningham said<\/a> in February when asked about Elliss. \u201cHe is a guy we are obviously evaluating and thinking there are a lot of linebackers in this market. I feel like we have to really look at our cap situation and our roster moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether that approach proves to be the right one remains to be seen, but for now, the Falcons\u2019 offseason is drawing more criticism than confidence from around the league.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tShane Shoemaker<\/a> Shane Shoemaker is a sports journalist covering college football and the NFL for Heavy.com. His work has also appeared in The Sporting News, Athlon Sports, USA TODAY, and ClutchPoints, along with high school sports coverage for the Marion Tribune. More about Shane Shoemaker<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Sports\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Falcons GM Ian Cunningham. Things have looked a little different with the Atlanta Falcons this offseason. They\u2019ve…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":816212,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2074],"tags":[223,254,2554,224,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-852498","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-falcons","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-falcons","10":"tag-atlantafalcons","11":"tag-falcons","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116344173034263601","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=852498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}