Falcons Extend G Matthew Bergeron

Bergeron has been the Falcons’ left guard starter since his 2023 NFL debut. The Falcons now have both their guards — Bergeron and Chris Lindstrom — locked down. Bergeron agreed to a four-year deal worth $96MM, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo. He will see $60MM guaranteed.

This matches Tyler Smith‘s guard-record AAV. The Cowboys gave their All-Pro guard that $24MM-per-year pact just before last season. Bergeron does not have any Pro Bowl or All-Pro nods on his resume, but he has been a constant in Atlanta’s lineup, missing only two games in three seasons. The interior O-line market also saw a transformative contract this offseason, with the Raiders giving Tyler Linderbaum a record-smashing center accord ($27MM AAV). Guards are set to benefit from that change as well.

This contract may precede a Lindstrom adjustment, as the Falcons’ right guard has appeared on four straight All-Pro second teams. The former first-rounder is tied to a $20.5MM-per-year extension that runs through the 2028 season. Bergeron is slated to out-earn his far more accomplished teammate, who has played out the guarantees on his deal.

Certainly the sidekick among Atlanta’s guard duo, Bergeron has given the team stability at LG. After 17-game seasons in 2023 and ’24, the former ACC blocker suited up for 15 games last season. Bergeron and Lindstrom helped power Bijan Robinson to a dominant 2025 season, joining veteran left tackle Jake Matthews in doing so. Matthews accompanies the Falcons’ guard tandem in being tied to a lucrative extension.

Trekking to Syracuse from his native Canada, Bergeron converted from college tackle to NFL guard. After breaking in as the Orange’s right tackle starter in 2019, Bergeron spent three seasons as the team’s LT starter. The Falcons chose the Montreal native 38th overall in 2023. While the team has since fired GM Terry Fontenot — who went 0-for-5 in playoff berths leading the front office — this extension reflects well on the exec’s 2023 draft. Bergeron has become a key player, helping Robinson — chosen eighth overall that year — dazzle during his three-year Falcons run.

Pro Football Focus ranked Bergeron in the top 20 among qualified guards in each of the past two seasons. PFF slotted Bergeron 20th last season, placing Lindstrom second overall. The Falcons’ O-line plan has changed a bit since last summer. The team had Lindstrom, Matthews and then-RT Kaleb McGary signed to eight-figure-per-year deals. McGary has since retired after missing all of last season due to injury. The Falcons join the Eagles as the teams carrying three O-linemen earning $20MM per year (Matthews is at $22.5MM AAV).

Atlanta’s pricey O-line accompanies Michael Penix Jr.‘s rookie contract and Tua Tagovailoa‘s veteran-minimum deal, though the Falcons will not be rid of Kirk Cousins‘ contract until 2028. The Falcons designated Cousins as a post-June 1 cut; they will eat $22.5MM in Cousins dead money this year and $12.5MM in 2027.

Bergeron’s extension marks the third major contract handed out by the Matt Ryan-Ian Cunningham regime. The team made Drake London the NFL’s third-highest-paid wide receiver this offseason, doing so before extending franchise-tagged tight end Kyle Pitts. Discussions on a Robinson payday have progressed. The star running back is holding in, and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler indicates the Falcons are still in talks on what will almost definitely be a position-record extension.