NFL Notes: Falcons, Panthers, Saints, & Seahawks

Falcons

Bill Barnwell of ESPN offers five roster moves for the Falcons that would make sense this offseason.

• According to Barnwell, the Falcons should cut veteran WRs Roddy White and Devin Hester.
• Barnwell suggests re-signing DE Adrian Clayborn, who is coming off of a decent season.
• A no-brainer move for the Falcons will be to pick up CB Desmond Trufant‘s fifth-year option for the 2017 season.
• Beyond that, Barnwell believes they should continue to invest draft picks in their offensive line, which has been an issue for Atlanta for some time now.
• The most interesting idea from Barnwell is for the Falcons to attempt to trade for Seahawks S Kam Chancellor. This would require them to sign Chancellor to a contract extension. Barnwell wonders if the Seahawks would take a fourth-round pick for him.

Panthers

Sticking with Bill Barnwell’s article, here are five roster moves he thinks would make sense for the Panthers.

• Probably the easiest move for the Panthers will be to franchise CB Josh Norman, even though it will run them $14 million guaranteed for the 2016 season.
• Barnwell suggests releasing veteran DE Jared Allen, which would save them $8.5 million in cap space.
• Barnwell believes the time is right to approach DT Kawann Short about a long-term extension, and suggests Bengals DT Geno Atkins‘ five-year, $53 million deal as a comparable deal for short.
• In regards to veteran DE Charles Johnson, Barnwell thinks they should rework his current contract, rather than cut him outright.
• As for free agency, Barnwell writes that Carolina should look for a replacement for S Roman Harper and suggests William Moore or Tyvon Branch as two players who could make sense for them.

Saints

Here are five roster moves Bill Barnwell would like to see from the Saints in the coming months.

• The first of which is to sign QB Drew Brees to an extension and in turn lower his staggering cap figure of $30 million. Barnwell mentions Eli Manning‘s four-year, $84 million deal as a baseline for Brees and the Saints.
• Some notable roster cuts, according to Barnwell, could include CB Brandon Browner and WR Marques Colston.
• Barnwell suggests re-signing veteran TE Ben Watson, who is coming off of a solid 2015 season for them.
• From there, Barnwell would approach LT Terron Armstead regarding a long-term contract extension.
• Barnwell’s last recommendation for the Saints is to simply not trade their draft picks.

Seahawks

• Ian Rapoport reports that the Seahawks won’t ask RB Marshawn Lynch to pay back his $5 million signing bonus.
• Rapoport adds that “both sides seem please with the outcome.”