The Falcons have a mess of defenders entering free agency this spring; in fact, Atlanta’s defense leads the entire league in snaps coming from impending free agents. They’ll have to replace Foye Oluokun’s 98% of all defensive snaps, Duron Harmon‘s 91%, Fabian Moreau‘s 88%, Erik Harris‘ 64%, Steven Means‘ 58%, and Dante Fowler‘s 44%. Six defensive starters and a plethora of other rotational players will also have to be replaced.
Oluokun being the most important of the bunch, the focus should be to bring the former Yale Bulldog back on a new deal. Currently leading the league in tackles, it isn’t going to be cheap to re-sign him. Anything under $10 million per year would be a no-brainer for me, but the Falcons front office could see it much differently.
The MIKE linebacker is a vital position in Dean Pees’ defense because the scheme is so complex. The MIKE is tasked with getting everyone lined up and making calls, all while handling his own positional responsibilities. He’s incredibly valuable to this team. Replacing the leader and signal-caller of a defense is a difficult thing to do, but it seems like the Falcons will attempt to avoid that.
In Friday’s press conference, Foye told reporters that his camp and the team will begin discussing a new contract after the season.
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