ESPN Free Agency Winners: Former Atlanta Falcons DT Grady Jarrett

The Atlanta Falcons made the surprise move of cutting captain Grady Jarrett on Monday morning to free up $16 million in much-needed salary cap space. The prevailing thought was with no guaranteed money left on the final year of his contract, Jarrett might get an extension that lowered his cap hit, but kept him in Atlanta.

Instead, a few hours after given his outright release, it was announced that Jarrett had come to terms with the Chicago Bears on a three-year deal that would guarantee him $28.5 million and be worth up to $43.5 million.

Atlanta Falcons Free Agency Tracker

The $14.5-million average is a pay cut for Jarrett who had a cap hit of $20-million on the final year of his Falcons' contract. However, the guaranteed money in Jarrett's deal had run out. If he was injured this year without a new contract, the Falcons wouldn't have owed him anything if they cut him.

Jarrett turns 32-years-old in April. He missed most of 2023 with an ACL injury, and he wasn't as dominant as he had been in the past when he returned to the field in less than a year in 2024.

Getting $28.5 million guaranteed from the Bears makes Jarrett one of free agency's big winners according to ESPN's Bill Barnwell. Barnwell selected several winners and losers in free agency, and he thinks Jarrett came up aces.

"Veterans on the wrong side of 30 who get cut as the legal tampering period begins can languish," wrote Barnwell on ESPN+. "Jarrett was already on a new team by the end of the evening.

"That's a great deal for Jarrett. Sacks can come and go for defensive tackles, and he has been a solid run defender, but he's turning 32 in April and didn't play dominant football after returning from the ACL tear last season. Those types of players are usually looking at one-year guarantees without any sort of long-term commitment. Landing what amounts to a two-year commitment at an average salary close to the number the Falcons balked at paying is a pleasant surprise for his camp."

With a $20-million cap hit against just a $4-million dead cap number, Jarrett had one of the most flexible contracts on the Falcons with $16 million available. Jake Matthews was another player who had a contract with a lot of maneuverability, and he was extended on Sunday to free up cap space.

The third is Kaleb McGary. The Falcons right tackle has a cap hit of $16.5 million against just $2 million in dead money. There's up to $14.5 million in savings if the Falcons move on from him like Jarrett, or they can still free up money by extending him like Matthews.

The Falcons have come to terms publicly with free agents Divine Deablo and Leonard Floyd to help address a leaky defense. Those two moves alone put them back over the salary cap. They'll need to make more moves to fill out the roster and sign their draft class.

Simple restructures of expensive second-contract players like Chris Lindstrom and Jessie Bates can be done, but keep an eye on McGary. When the delta is big between the cap number and the dead cap number is big, the team has flexibility to maneuver.

In Matthews's case, he got an extension to stay at left tackle for the Atlanta Falcons.

In Grady Jarrett's case, he ended up one of the big, unexpected winners in free agency.

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