Falcons Urged to Target Projected $56 Million Edge Rusher

In a perfect world, the Atlanta Falcons will make a huge splash with a trade for Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett this offseason. But the perfect scenarios aren't usually not the most realistic.

On March 7, Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon identified free agent edge rusher Josh Sweat as a realistic "missing piece" the Falcons could target in NFL free agency.

"Myles Garrett in the dream scenario. Josh Sweat in the slightly more realistic one," wrote Gagnon.

Sweat might not be a household name like Garrett, but adding the Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher would certainly be a splash as well. NFL Network's Gregg Rosenthal ranked Sweat the fifth-best free agent available on the open market this offseason.

"Sweat has played like a plus starter for nearly his entire seven-year career with the Eagles. He seems likely to leave after taking a pay cut before the 2024 season," wrote Rosenthal.

Sweat posted eight sacks with 41 combined tackles, including nine tackles for loss in 2024. The edge rusher also had 15 quarterback hits and two pass defenses in 16 regular season games.

During the playoffs, Sweat registered 2.5 sacks, three tackles for loss and three quarterback hits.

Sweat made the Pro Bowl during the 2021 NFL season. He then registered a career-best 11 sacks and 15 tackles for loss in 2022.

The Falcons badly need that kind of production from their edge rushing group. Atlanta was ranked 31st in sacks with 31 during the 2024 campaign.

Furthermore, over the last two decades, the Falcons have rarely been leaders in the NFL clubhouse when it comes to pressuring opposing quarterbacks. The team hasn't finished in the top half of the league in sacks since 2017, which coincidentally or not, was the last time the Falcons were in the playoffs.

The Falcons invested a lot of mid-round draft capital in defensive linemen last year. They could target edge rusher in the first round this spring.

But with Sweat, the Falcons would land a proven veteran that could take some pressure and attention away from those young prospects. Sweat's presence wouldn't hurt Arnold Ebiketie's development either.

The question is whether the Falcons can create the cap space necessary to sign Sweat. Spotrac projected Sweat to be worth $56.4 million on a three-year contract. That would give Sweat an average annual salary worth about $18.8 million.

Spotrac has the Falcons ranked with the third-least amount of cap space in the league as of March 8.