Falcons Confident They’ll Have Extension In Place For Devonta Freeman By Training Camp

Dianna Russini of ESPN is reporting that the Falcons are confident that they’ll have an agreement in place with RB Devonta Freeman regarding a contract extension before the first week of training camp.

It’s clear that the Falcons view Freeman as a priority for their offense and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get a new contract before the 2017 season is officially underway.

Last month, Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff mentioned in an interview with Adam Schein that they want Freeman with the team long-term and plan to discuss a deal in the “relatively near future.”

“Like I’ve said before, we want him here and he’s a very important part of our organization. Contrary to what people were saying around the Super Bowl time with what came out, we’re ready in the relatively near future to have some discussions with their representation,” Dimitroff said. “Devonta, he’s a really good guy, he’s really — as far as his personality — he’s so hyper-competitive. … He’s an urgent, angry runner, which we want and we know is important for us. We want him to be around for years to come and we’re confident that we’ll be able to get it done.”

Freeman, 25, is a former fourth-round pick of the Falcons back in 2014. He’s currently in the final year of his four-year, $2.7 million contract and stands to make a base salary of $1.838 million for the 2017 season before testing the open market as an unrestricted free agent next year.

In 2016, Freeman appeared in all 16 games for the Falcons and rushed for 1,079 yards on 227 carries (4.8 YPC) to go along with 54 receptions for 462 yards receiving and 13 total touchdowns. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 11 running back out of 62 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding a new contract for Freeman as the news is available.