Don’t expect much free agency news from Falcons during first wave of signings

It is officially legal for teams to contact free agents and agree in principle to deals, which can be made official come Wednesday. However, don’t expect the Falcons to be particularly active in this first wave of free agency.

A couple of weeks ago, Steve Wyche said that Atlanta would make cap-saving moves to become “mid-market” shoppers in free agency. Essentially, Terry Fontenot will be bargain shopping once again this offseason. A deal like Cordarrelle Patterson received last offseason is the model the Falcons would like to use moving forward.

The biggest splash in free agency Fontenot has made came in the form of a two-year, $5 million contract that brought Mike Davis back to his home state. It was also the only multi-year deal Fontenot handed out last offseason. After signing a one-year, $3 million deal, Patterson over-performed and broke out in his ninth season. He led the team in rushing (618 yards) and total touchdowns (11) while racking up the third-most receiving yards (548). The Falcons’ investment in Patterson can only be seen as a success.

The Falcons will obviously need to dip into free agency to fill the various voids on the roster — wide receiver, cornerback, and along the defensive front. However, I wouldn’t expect much news regarding the Falcons in the first few days of free agency. They’ll be in on the second and third waves of free agents that will cost Atlanta considerably less than the premier free agents of this class.