Cut Falcons S Ricardo Allen, DE Allen Bailey

The Falcons made the first major personnel moves of the Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith era, as Adam Schefter at ESPN reports they cut Ricardo Allen and Allen Bailey.

Both moves are part of a bigger cost cut Atlanta must make to break below the 2021 cap and start retooling the roster, but it’s a bit of a surprise to see Allen as one of the first players to come out. . The team will save nearly $ 11 million with moves, but will need to acquire new starting security and add to an already depleted defensive end group with these cuts.

Allen was originally selected as a Purdue cornerback in 2014, the last year of the Mike Smith era, and was somewhat mysteriously dropped and made the practice squad in his rookie season. With the arrival of Dan Quinn, Allen was transferred to safety and became a full-time starter there, keeping that job despite the staff change and injuries throughout the 2020 season. team safety in high school, he built a reputation as a smart player who made critical plays when he needed them, especially during the 2016 and 2017 when he was such a critical part of a pair of strong tusks.

One of the most respected men in the Falcons organization and a player who has made it clear he is going to be a coach someday, Allen is a player who will be hard to lose for the locker room. The move is also a clear signal that the Falcons will be rebuilding the safe position this offseason, as Allen was one of two players (Jaylinn Hawkins is the other) under contract there.

That’s not a surprising reduction, in and of itself, as cutting Allen saves the Falcons over $ 6 million and a whole new defensive staff are going to have different security priorities. I’m disappointed to see him leave after building a great career for Atlanta, but he shouldn’t struggle to find work elsewhere.

Bailey joined the Falcons as a free agent in 2019 to help a typically fragile defensive line, but despite some fine stretches he hasn’t ended up playing a major role for the team so often, as players like Steven Means and Jacob Tuioti-Mariner have interrupted their playing time. Over the past two seasons, Bailey has had 2.5 sacks, 11 presses and 6 tackles for loss on about 45% of defensive shots. A team looking for a regular defenseman will pick him up this spring.

We still don’t know exactly what the cap will look like in 2021, but it could be as low as $ 180 million. The Falcons will be making additional cuts and restructuring the deals in the very near future to line up with that final number, but they will likely go much further than that given the experience of Terry Fontenot’s professional staff and the stated desire for this. team to meet the needs through a free agency. rather than the project. Buckle up for a lot more news in this vein, in other words.

We wish both men good luck, and I sincerely hope we will see Allen come back to train with this Falcons team down the line.