Falcons release franchise icon Grady Jarrett

One of the best defensive linemen in team history is gone in a cap-cutting move.

On Sunday night, the Atlanta Falcons reportedly extended one long-tenured future Ring of Honor inductee in Jake Matthews. On Monday, they’re reportedly cutting ties with another legend, with the release of Grady Jarrett in a bid to save cap space ahead of the start of free agency.

Zach Klein of WSB TV had the news first. The Falcons are set to free up over $16 million in 2025 cap room, per Over the Cap, while taking a little over $4 million in dead money on.

I won’t lie: I’m pretty devastated by this, even if I was bracing for the move. Jarrett is more than just a player who has been around a long time, as he’s one of the better defensive tackles in team history, the heart and soul of this team and one of its consistent, most outspoken leaders, and by all accounts one of the best people in the business. The Falcons may be able to match his production on the field with other players—playing a ton of snaps coming off a major injury, Jarrett had arguably the worst season of his career, even if that was still solid—but the many things he did for the franchise and the city of Atlanta are not so easily replaced.

A fifth round pick who somehow slid in the 2015 NFL Draft, Jarrett was a part-time player in year one before breaking out as a starter in 2016, putting together an excellent sophomore season that ended with him putting forth a heroic effort and sacking Tom Brady three times in the Super Bowl we otherwise don’t talk about. From there, he spent the better part of a decade anchoring this defensive line and providing a level of run defense that was chronically underrated. The two-time Pro Bowler leaves the Falcons 10th all-time in sacks, first in quarterback hits, and 15th in games played.

I’ll fondly remember a lot of those sacks and those huge run stops, but I’ll also remember the way a 31-year-old Jarrett played way too many snaps this past season in a doomed year coming off a major injury because the team needed him to, a campaign emblematic of how Jarrett did business. There was never any question that he was giving his all for the Falcons, from his emotional end of season pressers to the in-game effort, and that’s no small thing.

That carried over off the field. Jarrett was just this team’s 2024 Walter Payton Man of the Year award nominee, the second time the team had nominated him for it, for the money, time, and energy he’s consistently given to Atlanta. Tori McElhaney wrote about a few of his initiatives here, from anti-bullying campaigns to scholarships to fighting pediatric cancer, but suffice to say Jarrett has made a profound impact throughout his career.

On the field this coming season the rationale for the change is clearer. The Falcons will lean on David Onyemata (assuming he’s still around), young players like Ruke Orhorhoro and Brandon Dorlus, and at least a handful of additions. The fact that the Falcons freed up so much room and still have an avenue to do more means they could very well look for a considerable upgrade up front to anchor a rebuilt, young line, and that’s my fervent wish. The hope is that Ruke will be ready to take on a major role in his second season, the way Jarrett did in 2016, and replace at least some of his production while the Falcons look for more upgrades up front.

Last season underscored the extent to which relying so heavily on Jarrett and Onyemata with thin depth was a massive mistake, so the release of Jarrett to free up considerable cap space must go toward addressing the line and the larger defense. While the defense needs help at all three levels and should get it, Raheem Morris and Jeff Ulbrich both had extremely strong fronts at times at their previous stints with the Rams and Jets, respectively, and understand how critical it is that the Falcons upgrade up front.

We’ll have more of a proper tribute to Jarrett soon, but all of us here at The Falcoholic love the man, and we wish him well wherever he lands next.