Tag: Kaleb McGary

Falcons pass on franchise-tagging Kaleb McGary

The #Falcons chose not to use the franchise tag on Kaleb McGary and now the former first-round pick is set to hit free agency.

The Atlanta Falcons may need to find a new starting right tackle this offseason after choosing not to use the franchise tag on Kaleb McGary, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Tuesday afternoon.

McGary, 28, is now free to sign with any team when the new league year begins on March 15.

Placing the franchise tag on McGary would have cost Atlanta $18.24 million this year, which is a big cap hit but also one that the team could have afforded. Nonetheless, there are some quality options in both free agency and the upcoming NFL draft for the Falcons to consider.

McGary got off to a slow start after Atlanta selected him in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft, but he has turned things around over the last two seasons under head coach Arthur Smith.

The Falcons declined McGary’s fifth-year option and he responded with the best season of his career. As a result, McGary is in line for a major payday this offseason.

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Titans named a potential landing spot for OT Kaleb McGary

PFF tabbed the Titans as a landing spot for pending free-agent OT Kaleb McGary.

The Tennessee Titans are just a few weeks away from a massive free-agency period.

This team has several needs all across the board, especially on offense, where they could have potential holes at left tackle, both guard spots, center, and at receiver.

As you can see, the offensive line in particular desperately needs to be revamped this offseason, and even more so if the team ends up losing Nate Davis on the open market and/or possibly Ben Jones to retirement.

Regardless if those two are back or not, it’s a safe bet that Tennessee tries to make some type of notable move upfront over the coming weeks.

Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus recently discussed his top landing spots for some of the top offensive tackles in free agency, and he has the Titans landing a relatively big name.

Spielberger has the Titans ultimately luring Falcons offensive tackle, Kaleb McGary, to Tennessee. He states that the team needs offensive tackle help in a “bad” way and he believes the former first-round pick can be the one to “save the day.”

Here is what he had to say:

McGary’s career arc is similar to Jack Conklin, as he was a first-round pick whose fifth-year option was declined by the team that drafted him before posting the best season of his career in his contract year. McGary recorded a 91.6 run-blocking grade (second) and an 86.6 overall PFF grade (fourth-best).

The Titans struggled across the offensive line in 2022, and their blue-chip left tackle of the last decade, Taylor Lewan, was one of the first cuts of the offseason. Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith can put in a good word to his former club, where he served in various roles from 2011-20, and likely focus his offseason efforts on a major extension for Atlanta’s other 2019 first-round pick, Lindstrom.

In total, the 28-year-old lineman, who has spent his career playing right tackle, allowed a total of 19 pressures, six sacks and three quarterback hits, while also committing six penalties in 2022.

Per Spotrac, McGary’s market value is estimated to be a four-year deal worth $70.9 million, which works out to $17.7 million annually.

The Titans have 2022 third-round pick Nicholas Petit-Frere set to man right tackle once again in 2023, but after NPF struggled, and now that the Titans have a new general manager, he isn’t as safe as he otherwise would be.

Barring a highly unlikely move to left tackle, signing McGary would mean the Titans are giving up on NPF, which would be surprising after one season. Still, as is the case with everything else this offseason, we can’t rule it out.

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ESPN dubs OT Kaleb McGary a perfect match for Broncos in free agency

ESPN believes OT Kaleb McGary would be a perfect match for the Broncos during NFL free agency.

ESPN’s Matt Bowen recently released his list of the “best team fits” for the NFL’s top 50 free agents, and he has a notable offensive lineman landing with the Denver Broncos (subscription required for link).

Bowen believes Atlanta Falcons right tackle Kaleb McGary would be a perfect fit for the Broncos under new head coach Sean Payton. McGary (6-7, 306 pounds) is a former first-round pick who has started 63 games since 2019.

McGary, 27, would be a big signing for Denver, a team that is expected to shore up its offensive line this spring.

Meanwhile, Bowen lists the Chicago Bears as the best fit for Broncos free agent defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones and the Los Angeles Rams as the best landing spot for Denver guard Dalton Risner. Jones and Risner are arguably the Broncos’ most notable free agents this spring.

Here’s the full list of Denver players scheduled to become free agents. The NFL’s free agency negotiating window will open on March 13.

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How much would it cost the Falcons to franchise tag Kaleb McGary?

How much would it cost the #Falcons to use their franchise tag on RT Kaleb McGary this offseason?

Last offseason, the Atlanta Falcons decided not to pick up right tackle Kaleb McGary‘s fifth-year option. The former first-round pick turned in arguably the best season of his career in 2022, and now the team must either pay up or let him sign elsewhere.

McGary will become a free agent on March 16, unless the two sides come to an agreement. However, the Falcons still have the franchise tag at their disposal if they want to keep McGary in Atlanta through 2023.

The franchise tag is essentially a one-year deal that pays a player no less than the average of the five highest salaries at the player’s position over the last five years, or 120 percent of the player’s cap number from the prior year.

Tuesday is the first day teams can apply the tag, and the Falcons would have to pay McGary $18.24 million in order to retain him for another season.

So, with $56.5 million in cap space, tagging McGary would bring this total down to just $36.25 million. That’s about 32 percent of the current available cap space being given to a player who wasn’t in the team’s long-term plans one year ago.

However, allowing him to walk would make finding a new starting right tackle one of the highest priorities this offseason. Since the Falcons don’t have an option behind McGary on the roster, they’d need to find a cheaper option in the draft or free agency.

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Kaleb McGary selected as Falcons’ secret superstar by PFF

#Falcons RT Kaleb McGary was chosen as the team’s secret superstar by Pro Football Focus

The Atlanta Falcons chose not to pick up Kaleb McGary‘s fifth-year option last offseason, forcing the right tackle to play out the final year of his contract in 2022. McGary responded by having the best season of his professional career as the Falcons featured a top-three rushing offense.

Pro Football Focus has been heaping praise on McGary as of late. The former first-round pick was selected as the team’s “secret superstar” by PFF’s Marcus Mosher:

“The Falcons had one of the league’s best offensive lines in 2022 and a big reason why was due to McGary’s emergence. He allowed just three QB hits all season and graded out as one of the league’s best run blockers (91.6). With McGary and Chris Lindstrom on the right side of the offensive line, it’s no wonder why the Falcons had so much success running the ball this season.”

Chris Lindstrom, who was also selected in the first round of the 2019 draft, has gotten the most credit for Atlanta’s dominant rushing attack. Unlike McGary, though, Lindstrom had his fifth-year option picked up by Atlanta last offseason.

McGary, 27, will now enter the 2023 offseason as an unrestricted free agent. The Falcons will have enough cap space to re-sign McGary, but he could be a hot commodity among teams looking for a right tackle.

PFF’s Brad Spielberger listed McGary as the NFL’s 29th-rated free agent available in 2023:

“McGary’s 91.6 run-blocking grade ranked second among tackles, trailing only the great Trent Williams, with 19.7% of his run-blocking snaps earning a positive grade, which also placed second best. The concern here will be if he’s a beneficiary of the NFL’s run-heaviest offense and if his 66.9 pass-blocking grade — a career best — can continue to improve in years to come. “

Even though it won’t be cheap to keep McGary in Atlanta, he’s clearly a good fit in Arthur Smith’s system and it’s hard to find quality tackles in this league.

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10 pending free agents the Falcons should re-sign in 2023

10 pending free agents the #Falcons should look to retain this offseason

Due to salary cap constraints, the Atlanta Falcons were forced to hand out a number of one-year deals last offseason, but that won’t be the case in 2023 when the team is projected to have the second-most available cap space in the NFL.

The Falcons have 23 players set to hit free agency when the new league year begins in March. We’ve compiled a list of 10 pending free agents Atlanta should look to retain this offseason.

PFF grades: Kaleb McGary, Tyler Allgeier led Falcons in Week 9

Falcons RT Kaleb McGary and RB Tyler Allgeier earned the team’s highest Pro Football Focus grades in Week 9

The Atlanta Falcons capitalized on a couple of late field goals during their Week 8 win over the Carolina Panthers, but that luck ran out when the Los Angeles Chargers came to town in Week 9.

Los Angeles hit a last-second field goal to seal a 20-17 victory over Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday. However, this was far from a devastating loss since the Falcons are still tied for the best record in the NFC South and have one of the NFL’s most dominant rushing attacks.

Running back Cordarrelle Patterson returned to the team in Week 9 and rushed for two touchdowns, but rookie Tyler Allgeier was perhaps even more impressive, rushing for 99 yards on just 10 carries. Allgeier earned the team’s second-highest Pro Football Focus grade (90.8) on Sunday.

Right tackle Kaleb McGary led the Falcons with an overall grade of 91.6. Check out the team’s 20 highest-rated players from Week 9 below.

Falcons’ offensive line ranked 28th overall by Pro Football Focus

Pro Football Focus has very little faith in the Falcons’ offensive line, ranking the unit 28th out of the 32 NFL teams.

The Atlanta Falcons haven’t made the playoffs since the 2017 season in large part due to the play of the team’s offensive line.

Despite multiple attempts to upgrade this unit over the last few offseasons, the Falcons enter training camp with question marks at three of the five starting offensive line positions. The entire group should benefit from another year in Arthur Smith’s offense but there are still concerns, especially when it comes to pass protection.

Pro Football Focus’ Michael Renner ranked all 32 offensive lines going into the 2022 season, breaking them into six different tiers:

  • Tier 1: Minor or no weaknesses
  • Tier 2: High floor
  • Tier 3: High-end potential
  • Tier 4: At least one good tackle
  • Tier 5: Uninspiring
  • Tier 6: Problematic

Can you guess which tier the Falcons were ranked in? Atlanta is in the “uninspiring” category, something that should come as no surprise to anyone who watched Matt Ryan take 40 sacks last season.

Renner acknowledges the team has two quality starters up front in left tackle Jake Matthews and right guard Chris Lindstrom, but there’s little clarity beyond those two:

“While Jake Matthews and Chris Lindstrom are quality starters, there are still too many glaring holes along this offensive line. The most unfortunate culprit is former first-round pick Kaleb McGary, who simply hasn’t improved in three years as a starter and yielded 41 pressures on the right side last season.”

McGary’s fifth-year option wasn’t picked up by the Falcons, so the former first-rounder is playing for a future contract. Will that be enough to motivate him, or will one of the newcomers like Germain Ifedi or Elijah Wilkinson be him out for the starting right tackle spot?

As for Jalen Mayfield, the second-year left guard will need to show significant improvement this season or Atlanta will likely be looking to upgrade in 2023. Center Matt Hennessy also struggled in his first year as a starter, but the team didn’t add much competition at either position. However, second-year center Drew Dalman took first-team reps during minicamp last week, so Hennessy’s job may not be as safe as we initially thought.

Atlanta definitely struggled in pass protection last year, but the running game was much improved with Cordarrelle Patterson leading the way. I expect the team’s ground attack to continue to improve in 2022, and it would be hard for the pass-blocking to be much worse than it was last season. 

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Falcons activate RT Kaleb McGary from COVID reserve

Atlanta was able to come away with a 30-28 win over the weekend, and on Monday, the team activated McGary from the reserve/COVID list.

The Falcons were relatively healthy compared to the Dolphins entering Sunday’s game, but the team was forced to play without two key starters in right tackle Kaleb McGary and outside linebacker Dante Fowler. McGary was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list last week and Fowler (knee) went on injured reserve.

Nonetheless, Atlanta was able to come away with a 30-28 victory over the weekend, and on Monday, the team activated McGary from the COVID reserve. The Falcons also released safety T.J. Green, making way for McGary’s return.

According to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein, the team cut kicker Elliott Fry from the practice squad and signed defensive back Luther Kirk to fill his vacancy. Kirk previously spent time with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of Illinois State.

As for injured defensive backs A.J. Terrell and Erik Harris, we didn’t get an official update, but head coach Arthur Smith said he feels good about the health of the secondary going forward.

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Falcons OL Kaleb McGary, LB Dante Fowler Jr. back at practice

After a day off Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons resumed practice on Monday and a couple of key players made their camp debut.

After a day off Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons resumed practice on Monday and a couple of key players made their camp debut.

Linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. made returned from the reserve/COVID-19 list, and right tackle Kaleb McGary was taken off the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

Both Fowler Jr. and McGary are likely starters this season and their return is huge for a Falcons team that was limited this offseason by a lack of salary cap funds.

On the flip side, both CB Kendall Sheffield and FB Keith Smith were absent at Monday’s practice.

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