According to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Falcons are focused on signing DT Grady Jarrett, LT Jake Matthews and S Ricardo Allen to contract extensions.
This comes after the news that the Falcons will not give WR Julio Jones the raise he’s seeking (NFLTR).
Matthews, 26, was taken with the No. 6 overall pick by the Falcons back in 2014. He was entering in the final year of his four-year, $16.5 million rookie contract and set to make a base salary of $690,000 for the 2017 season when the Falcons picked up his fifth-year option last year.
Matthews now stands to make a base salary of $12.496 million for the 2018 season.
In 2017, Matthews appeared in all 16 games for the Falcons and was rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 14 offensive tackle out of 81 qualifying players.
Jarrett, 25, is a former fifth-round pick of the Falcons back in 2015. He’s currently in the final year of his four-year, $2.527 million contract and set to make a base salary of $1.907 million for the 2018 season.
Jarrett will be an unrestricted free agent in 2019.
In 2017, Jarrett appeared in all 16 games for the Falcons and recorded 55 tackles and four sacks. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 14 interior defensive lineman out of 122 qualifying players.
Allen, 26, is a former fifth-round pick of the Falcons back in 2014. He was waived a few months after he was drafted and later signed to the Falcons’ practice squad at the start of the 2014 season.
Allen returned to the Falcons on a one-year exclusive rights contract the past few years and tested the open market as a restricted free agent this offseason before signing his one-year tender worth $2.914 million.
In 2017, Allen appeared in 15 games for the Falcons and recorded 54 tackles, one interception, and two pass defenses. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 31 safety out of 86 qualifying players.
We have Jarrett and Matthews featured in our Top 25 – 2019 NFL Free Agents list.
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