PFF lists five potential 2020 Falcons cap casualties

The Atlanta Falcons cap restraints are no secret at this point. With only $5.3 million in projected space, most around the league are assuming they will make the moves necessary to free up space to upgrade a defense that struggled in 2019. Pro Football Focus' Anthony Treash released his 2020 NFL Free Agency Preview, and provided some insights to who Atlanta may choose to move on from in the coming weeks.

Only three teams-- the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Minnesota Vikings-- currently have less cap space than the Falcons. So significant changes would not be a surprise, and may even be expected.

Treash notes S Keanu Neal (saves $6.5 million in 2020), DL Allen Bailey (saves $4.5 million in 2020), OT Ty Sambrailo (saves $3.7 million in 2020), TE Luke Stocker (saves $2.6 million in 2020), and QB Matt Schaub (saves $2 million in 2020) as potential cuts.

If Atlanta made all of these moves, they would jump from $5.3 million in space to $24.6 million, which would put them up to 23rd in cap space from 29th, and ideally give them the resources they need to patch up a defensive unit that lacked depth in multiple areas in 2019.

Treash notes the Falcons may look to the secondary in free agency, which lines up with most mock drafts projecting them to address the defensive line early in the 2020 NFL Draft. The coverage unit received just the 24th best team coverage grade in 2019, and there should be affordable options on the market.

It remains to be seen what route Atlanta goes to attempt to resolve their cap situation, but it seems likely that multiple players will have to be expendable in order for Thomas Dimitroff & Co. to have ample resources to restock the roster. These things are just the nature of the business-- and it's going to suck for someone, whoever is cut-- but in a salary cap driven sport where production is required at so many positions, this is merely due process.

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