A few notable veteran edge rushers are set to hit the open market in the coming days, but one will be staying put for the next few years on his incumbent team. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets that Lorenzo Carter has agreed to terms on a two-year deal with the Falcons.
Carter spent the first four years of his career with the Giants. His time there was marked by consistency in terms of playing time and production; in three healthy seasons, he averaged 46 tackles and 4.5 sacks per campaign. The one exception to that was the 2020 season, in which the 27-year-old suffered a torn Achilles.
Last March, Carter bid farewell to New York one day before he found his next NFL employer. That decision paved the way for a homecoming for the Atlanta native and Georgia Bulldogs alum since Carter signed with the Falcons. That one-year pact carried a value of $3.5M and allowed him to see a larger workload than any of his campaigns spent in the Big Apple.
Logging a snap share of 81%, the former third-rounder set a new career high with 58 total tackles last year. He added four sacks, 12 QB hits, one fumble recovery and a pick-six to his stat line in his first Falcons season. Carter ranked second on the team in sacks, and first amongst edge rushers. As a whole, though, the team struggled once again to get to opposing quarterbacks, ranking 31st in the league with 21 sacks.
That will likely turn Atlanta towards additions both in free agency and the draft this offseason. With more than $66M in cap space, the Falcons could afford to make a significant splash in a pass rush market which is now expected to include Titans, Rams and Chiefs cap casualties Bud Dupree, Leonard Floyd and Frank Clark. The No. 8 selection could also land them one of the top rookies at the position. In any case, Carter could be in line for a reduction in workload moving forward, as he starts the next phase of his Falcons tenure.
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