Falcons $16 Million Cap Room: Sign Cordarrelle Patterson & Russell Gage?

Is "the universe is a lot more open'' for the Falcons to lose two key guys this week?

The 2022 "legal tampering" period to trigger NFL free agency is set to open on Monday at noon ET - and the Atlanta Falcons have premium plans to at least work to keep their own guys, including Cordarrelle Patterson and Russell Gage.

We know Patterson would prefer to stay with the Atlanta franchise that in 2021 unleashed his multi-faceted skill set.

And now maybe we know that Gage should be worth watching, as he may have suitors.

We do believe the Falcons would prefer to retain Gage; one NFL source tells us he may get the same $6 million APY offer from somewhere that Patterson gets.

Can the Falcons swing that? As it relates to Gage, can the Falcons win a bidding war with, let's say, the Detroit Lions?

D.J. Chark another guy the #Lions like. 2019 Pro Bowler is just 25 years old and will be fully healthy heading into next season.

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 13, 2022

We've got Atlanta down for having about $16 million in cap room; the Lions have $22 million in cap room, and per NFL reporter Jordan Schultz, they also have Gage on their wish list.

As Schultz writes, "The Lions are "really hoping" to sign an impact wide receiver to pair alongside rising star Amon-Ra St. Brown, a league source says. Among others, I'm told Detroit has interest in Christian Kirk, Braxton Berrios and Russell Gage -- whom the Falcons are hoping to bring back."

Schulz also mentions D.J. Chark as a Lions candidate.

Maybe the Falcons can win a sort of "game of Musical Chairs'' here; free agency and this NFL Draft are both loaded with talent at the wideout spot ... so something is going to be left for Atlanta to add - or at least keep.

But yes, Detroit is talking up the idea of being a buyer.

"We’ll have a little bit more resources available to us this year, where we can search for --- we’re not just searching for one-year deal guys," Detroit GM Brad Holmes told reporters at this year's scouting combine. "I’m not saying that we won’t sign a guy that’s on a one-year deal, that’ll still be in play, but I guess you can say the universe is a lot more open to us this year."