Atlanta

Falcons

In an article written by ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Cunningham said the team is “excited about (Penix) and what he’s doing with his rehab,” but didn’t comment on whether he would be locked in as the team’s QB1 for next season. The soon-to-be 26-year-old is rehabbing from a torn ACL he suffered in Week 11, but underwhelmed in his second season, throwing for 1,982-9-3 in the nine starts he made. For his career, Penix has completed just 59.6 percent of his passes while going 4-8 as a starter. With Kirk Cousins likely to be playing elsewhere in 2026, any competition Penix could face for the starting role will likely come from the outside via either the draft or free agency. Penix said during the Super Bowl media week that he “absolutely” expects to be ready by Week 1, but given the timing of his injury, he’ll likely have several hurdles to clear just to be ready in time for training camp. Regardless, we would expect the Falcons to address their QB room in some way this offseason.

Allgeier will probably be one of the highest-regarded backs on the market, and Kendall notes that the Falcons can’t afford to give him starting running back money behind Bijan Robinson. Allgeier could wind up in a terrific fantasy situation this year — the Chiefs and Texans (our speculation) are two rooms he could step into as the lead back easily with real upside — and could find himself in the RB2 tier in the right landing spot.

Rutenberg was one of three finalists for the job and now lands his first defensive coordinator role in the NFL. The longtime coach had previous stints with the 49ers (2020) and Jets (2021-2024), and helped lead a secondary that ranked 13th in passing yards allowed and 13th in net yards per attempt, while also ranking sixth in interceptions. Rutenberg will have big shoes to fill taking over for Jim Schwartz, who resigned after being passed over for the Browns’ head coaching job earlier this offseason.

Blackburn was fired by the Rams towards the end of the regular season after several losses were influenced by blunders on special teams. He had been with the team since 2023 but poor special teams showings marked a rough ending to his tenure. Blackburn will get a fresh start as an assistant in the special teams room with the Rams.

Kendall notes that new GM Ian Cunningham proactively gave an extension to DJ Moore in Chicago, and writes that “getting the deals done sooner rather than later should be the team’s approach.” London enters 2026 on his fifth-year option and is scheduled to make $16.8 million. An extension would obviously make plenty of sense after London established himself as one of the best receivers in the NFL over the past two seasons despite inconsistent quarterback play. Kendall believes London “likely sees himself” as a $30 million a year player.

Kendall notes that he believes Pitts is “likely to remain in Atlanta” either way, but that with the new executives and head coaches mostly not commenting on him, it would give everyone a year involved to see how good Pitts can be in Kevin Stefanski’s offense. The franchise tag for tight ends is not exorbitant, and Kendall notes that Pitts’ agent would likely ask for at least the tag (a little over $16.3 million) in average annual value anyway.

Rutenberg was a finalist for the Titans’ defensive coordinator job but was passed over for Gus Bradley. The 44-year-old coach joined the Falcons in 2025 after spending the previous four seasons with the Jets. Rutenberg has nearly 20 year’s worth of experience as a coach in the NFL but has never held a coordinator position.

It sounds like Garafolo believes the Falcons could release Cousins, and then attempt to re-sign him to a more affordable contract. The Browns notably attempted to trade for Cousins last year, with new Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanki then serving as the Browns’ head coach. Garafolo notes that there is expected to be “a lot of interest” in Cousins if he hits free agency. The Falcons probably need to lock in to a bridge quarterback with Michael Penix (knee) questionable to start the season after ACL surgery.

Pearce is reportedly being held in Miami-Dade County on a $20,500 bond. The case “was assigned to the felony domestic crimes intake unit,” and Pearce was “given a pre-trial conditional stay-away order” regarding WNBA player Rickea Jackson. We expect more updates in the coming days. Given the reporting so far, it would not be surprising if Pearce’s availability for the 2026 season were in question at this point.

Pace will “have options elsewhere” per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The former Bears general manager will look to rebuild the reputation in a new front office in 2026. The Falcons signaled what they thought of the current brain trust when they cleaned house after the season, and ‘president of football’ Matt Ryan clearly had no use for Pace.