Ian Cunningham Articulates a Clear Team-Building Strategy for the Falcons

FLOWERY BRANCH – The new-look Atlanta Falcons are continuing their offseason makeover with free agency. General manager Ian Cunningham has infused the roster with crucial depth.

And for a class that has lacked ‘star power,’ it makes up for it with consistency and experience.

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Cunningham has made a flurry of additions, but nearly all of them are low-risk contracts. Of the confirmed deals, just punter Jake Bailey (three years, $9 million) and Nick Folk (two years) are for more than one year.

“It’s just the beginning,” Cunningham said over his virtual interview on Friday. “But I’m excited with what we were able to do. We really went into this free agency looking to elevate our floor. We added depth pieces, but also players who have starting experience that can start [for the Falcons], and have shown that they’re able to start in this league.”

Injuries have hurt several of those players, but it has allowed the Falcons to get them to Atlanta on team-friendly deals.

The sample size is minuscule, and they could still make more moves, but the 13 additions the Falcons have made over the last week have provided some insight into how Cunningham views his new team. It could also show how he expects to build his roster moving forward.

“We are really looking for value across the fronts and throughout the roster,” he continued. “We really wanted to find alignment within our coaching staff and within our personnel staff, and also with our analytics. Our scouts did a really good job of setting the table and providing our coaches with players to evaluate, providing our analytics crew with players to look at, and we really searched for alignment across all three fronts.

“I feel like we found a good band of players to really target, and I’m really happy with how we came out of this.”

The moves he made this offseason have set the franchise up to really get some answers about their roster makeup this season, particularly at quarterback, before potentially making splashier acquisitions in 2027. The Falcons appear content to let the 2026 season help answer them.

Cunningham is clearly prioritizing flexibility over flash in this first offseason under Cunningham and head coach Kevin Stefanski. Instead of tying up cap space in long-term deals, Atlanta has built a roster filled with experienced veterans on manageable contracts.

The Falcons may not have landed the splashiest names on the market, but they may have accomplished something just as important: giving the roster enough stability to finally figure out what they truly have.

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