New report reveals why Falcons released veteran DE

In one of the most shocking moves in recent memory, the Falcons kicked off the 2025 campaign in a major way, releasing a future member of the ring of honor — Grady Jarrett.

It was a surprising move because Jarrett was the heart and soul of the football team in Atlanta. His salary didn’t match the production at all, but still, it was a gut punch. The Falcons did, however, attempt to keep Jarrett in town, but to no avail.

According to Marc Raimondi of ESPN, the Falcons tried to work out a new deal with Jarrett before he was ultimately released.

Not long ago, Zach Klein of WSB-TV Atlanta, who broke the news that the team was parting ways with Jarrett, reported that he expected the two sides to work out a new deal.

"Grady doesn’t want to go anywhere. The Falcons don’t want him to go anywhere. They want Atlanta to be the only place he’s ever played," Klein said during the NFL Scouting Combine.

Well, we have a report that reveals what happened. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Falcons offered a reduced deal, but Jarrett felt more confident in his market value than what they offered.

Jarrett had a cap hit north of $20M next season, and the Falcons saved over $16M against this year’s cap by releasing him. That’s a no-brainer if we are being honest.

Unfortunately, the two sides weren’t able to find common ground, and now Jarrett will get a chance to sign with a contender, something that wasn’t going to happen in Atlanta.