Falcons earn ‘least likely to worry about tomorrow’ offseason award

Coming into the offseason, many believed Falcons GM Terry Fontenot could be fighting for his job.

He’d been at the helm of the team for four seasons and had not put together a roster that finished with a record that was better than .500, let alone made the playoffs. A GM running an NFL franchise today with no care for tomorrow could present some issues. Keeping Fontenot in power was a risk because it seems like it’s win or go home for him in 2025, but everything he did in free agency suggested his job was secure.

The Falcons inked several defensive free agents, but none of them were notable. Leonard Floyd and the team agreed to a one-year deal. Divine Deablo garnered a two-year contract somehow. Morgan Fox also signed a two-year deal, and Mike Hughes re-upped on a three-year deal. That’s pretty much it.

The Falcons parted ways with Grady Jarrett after the two sides couldn’t come together on a new deal. Drew Dalman, one of the team’s only successful draft picks under Fontenot, walked in free agency, becoming the second-richest center in the league.

Nothing happened before April that suggested the Falcons GM’s job was in danger. Then, the NFL Draft came, and everything changed. Jalon Walker surprisingly fell to Atlanta’s 15th pick, and Fontenot did the sensible thing: he took the best player available.

Everyone thought the Falcons’ night was over, but Fontenot had other ideas. He made the biggest move of the draft, trading a 2026 first-round pick to move back into the first round to draft James Pearce Jr.

While everything signaled Terry Fontenot’s job was secure, a move like that would suggest he really doesn’t have any care for the 2026 offseason. That’s why Bill Barnwell of ESPN gave the Falcons the ‘least likely to worry about tomorrow’ superlative.

“Some of the worst decisions franchises can make come when the team’s incentives aren’t aligned with the people who work for the team. Seven years removed from their last winning season and with a quarterback who has all of three career starts under center in Michael Penix Jr., the Falcons should not be all-in. There are reasons to be optimistic about what the future might hold, sure, but they were not one player away this offseason…

As a result, the Falcons ended up treating 2025 like it was their last chance to fix their longest-running issue. Having ranked 31st or 32nd in sack rate in three of the past four seasons, they took a huge swing on attempting to plug their hole on the edge. After whiffing on first-round picks (Vic Beasley, Takkarist McKinley) and free agent signings (Dante Fowler Jr.) over the past decade, Fontenot and the Falcons used the No. 15 pick on linebacker Jalon Walker, then moved up 11 picks later and sent a 2026 first-rounder to the Rams to grab defender James Pearce Jr.”

Barnwell is right. If it works out, nobody will care, but it’s still a gamble from a GM that might not have to deal with the fallout. Therein lies the issue with leaving a man with his back against the wall in power. Decisions made from a place of desperation are never ideal. That doesn’t mean it won’t work out for the Falcons, though.