WATCH: Keeping Vic Beasley is proving to be a terrible decision
This past summer, the Atlanta Falcons faced the difficult decision of whether or not to pick up Vic Beasley's fifth-year option. With limited salary-cap space, the Falcons essentially found it cheaper to count on Dan Quinn and the defensive staff to get Beasley back to his Pro Bowl form, so they opted in on his one-year, $12.8 million option.
The Falcons would have been better off spending that money elsewhere.
While Beasley has managed five quarterback hits through five games, he only has 1.5 sacks. That puts him about on pace for five sacks this season, which is what he's recorded each of the last two years.
Beasley led the league with 15.5 sacks in 2016, but since then, he only has 11.5 sacks in 35 games.
While he's been close on several occasions to making a big negative play this year, Beasley can't seem to close the deal. Quarterbacks find a way to elude his final rush, and it's a big part of why Atlanta is off to a 1-4 start.
The Falcons are tied for last in the league with five sacks. With all the time quarterbacks have to throw against Atlanta, opposing signal callers have absolutely tore apart the Falcons secondary.
Beasley's 1.5 sacks are actually second on the team, but really what that says is how poor the Atlanta pass rush has been early this year.
He could finish first on the team in sacks at the end of the season, if he doesn't increase his current pace, bringing back Beasley should be viewed as one of the Falcons' biggest blunders of the 2019 offseason.
