At his introductory news conference, Falcons edge rusher Leonard Floyd was asked what he will bring to the defense. Floyd called himself “a smoking gun.”
“Picture third down,” Floyd said, via Terrin Waack of the team website. “Third-and-6. Third-and-7. It’s time to get the quarterback. That’s when I show up. That’s what I’m here for.”
In nine seasons, Floyd twice has had double-digit sacks. He totaled 10.5 in 2020 and 2023.
Floyd, who has 66.5 career sacks, has had at least 8.5 sacks in each of the past five seasons.
His 2025 goal is a career-best 11 sacks.
“Getting my highest amount of sacks in one season, that’s my goal,” Floyd said. “It’s always been my goal, every season.”
Vic Beasley, who had 15.5 sacks in 2016, is the last Falcons player to have a double-digit sack season. The Falcons ranked 31st in the NFL with 31 sacks, led by Arnold Ebiketie’s six.
Floyd said he can help.
“We both know that I can do multiple things in the defense, and I’ve played in multiple schemes,” Floyd said. “I’m going to go out and do what I do best: buy into the playbook and buy into the coaching as well.”
The slow-moving (for now) quarterback carousel includes a veteran who is in no hurry to make a move — assuming his current team is even inclined to move him.
Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins remains a theoretical trade candidate, if the Falcons will trade him and if he’ll waive his no-trade clause.
There’s a wrinkle that relates to Cousins’s willingness to accept a trade to a new team. He wants to be sure he doesn’t get supplanted by a subsequent draft pick.
Via Albert Breer of SI.com, Cousins hopes “to avoid the situation he found himself in last April when he was blindsided by Atlanta’s decision to take Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth pick.” As a result, Cousins isn’t willing to take any team at their word. Instead, he wants to see what happens during the draft before deciding whether to waive the clause that prevents the Falcons’ from trading him without his permission.
None of this matters if the Falcons won’t trade Cousins. They might be truly willing to pay him $27.5 million to serve as the backup to Michael Penix Jr. in 2025.
The other question is whether a new team will take on Cousins’s full salary for 2025. If he’s going to be the starter, why wouldn’t they? And if the call comes from a team that still needs a quarterback after the draft ends, Cousins might be able to leverage a better deal from what could be, come early May, a desperate team.
So it’s smart, at this point, for Cousins to wait. As he learned the hard way last year, the quarterback deals made in March can quickly become undermined by the draft picks exercised in April.
With quarterback Jameis Winston joining the Giants, the group of teams looking for veteran signal-callers is shrinking.
It’s down to three obvious teams: Steelers, Browns, and Vikings.
Others could be looking for veterans, too. But those are the main three.
And the most obvious candidates are Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco, Ryan Tannehill (apparently), and Carson Wentz, who has been linked to the Browns.
Also, don’t rule out a potential Kirk Cousins trade.
Rodgers looms over everything, but as the Winston signing shows some teams are willing to move on. And with the Browns not linked to Rodgers at all (for now), they can move on Wilson or Wentz or whoever they want.
Regardless, the carousel is still spinning. And some big names are still waiting. Or keeping us waiting. Or some of both.
UPDATE 12:00 p.m. ET, 3/23/25: In response to this item, we’ve heard from multiple sources that the Giants remain in play for Russell Wilson.
Feleipe Franks is returning to Atlanta.
The Falcons announced the addition of the free agent tight end, and according to multiple reports, Franks is signing a one-year deal.
Franks, 27, originally joined the Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2021. He entered the NFL as a quarterback before moving to tight end in his first season.
He has mostly contributed on special teams, playing 113 offensive snaps and 432 on special teams in his career.
Franks spent last season in Carolina, playing a career-high 305 special teams snaps, collecting 10 special teams tackles and making his first career catch for 12 yards.
As a rookie in Atlanta, Franks played nine games. He had 14 offensive snaps and 36 on special teams, with three carries for 6 rushing yards and one pass attempt that was intercepted.
In 2022, Franks appeared in 11 games, starting one. He took 54 offensive snaps and 91 on special teams. His sole carry gained no yards, and he was targeted twice but did not catch either pass.
Franks was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a calf injury before the 2023 season.
Franks joins Kyle Pitts and Charlie Woerner in the tight ends room.
The Titans have signed veteran edge rusher Lorenzo Carter, the team announced Thursday.
He is the 10th free agent to sign with the Titans this offseason.
Carter spent the past three seasons with the Falcons. In 2014, he appeared in 13 games, with 11 starts, seeing action on 409 defensive snaps and 51 on special teams.
He had 32 tackles, no sacks and two quarterback hits.
The Giants made Carter a third-round pick in 2018, and he played four seasons in New York and three with the Falcons.
He has played 3,764 defensive snaps and 674 on special teams in 96 games with 62 starts. Carter has totaled 278 tackles, 18 passes defensed, 21.5 sacks and 58 quarterback hits.
The Falcons are adding an experienced returner.
Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Media, Jamal Agnew has agreed to terms with Atlanta on a one-year deal worth a maximum of $2.5 million.
Agnew, 29, did not appear in a game in 2024, though he was on the Steelers’ practice squad late in the year. He suffered a leg injury late in the 2023 season that sidelined him for an extended period.
A fifth-round pick in 2017, Agnew has played 82 games with five starts for the Lions and Jaguars. He was an All-Pro as a returner in 2017 and a Pro Bowler in 2022. He’s averaged 25.5 yards per kick return and 10.3 yards per punt return over his career. He’s returned four punts for touchdowns and two kickoffs for touchdowns.
Additionally, Agnew has registered 77 receptions for 746 yards with five TDs. He’s rushed 33 times for 263 yards with a touchdown.
The calliope has stopped for the NFL’s game of musical chairs. Multiple teams had been waiting for Aaron Rodgers to pick a seat, any seat.
If he’s not going to do it any time soon, at what point does the chase for chairs continue without him?
The Steelers and Giants are seemingly waiting for Rodgers to make a decision before making moves with other veteran quarterbacks. Caught in the wash of Rodgers’s delay are players like Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco, Jameis Winston, and (if a trade is possible from the Falcons) Kirk Cousins. With the Vikings reportedly not signing Rodgers “at this time” and with Rodgers potentially waiting to see whether J.J. McCarthy performs well enough during the offseason program to keep the Vikings from breaking glass in event of emergency, will the Steelers and Giants keep waiting, too? Or will they move on?
It’s more imperative for the Giants, who currently have one quarterback on the roster — journeyman who has yet to do much journeying Tommy DeVito. They desperately need someone, anyone on whom they can pin even a portion of their hopes for 2025. (They’ve brought in Wilson, Flacco, and Winston for visits in the past week.)
The Steelers have two quarterbacks on the roster: Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson. Rudolph performed well down the stretch for the Steelers in 2023, after the soft benching of Kenny Pickett (and before Rudolph wanted more than the Steelers were inclined to pay). Thompson, like Rudolph, has once started a playoff game in Buffalo. The Steelers seem to be in better position to let it ride through the draft than the Giants.
It’s also possible the Steelers and/or Giants could add a veteran with the understanding that, if Rodgers comes calling at some point down the road, the veteran will be sent packing. That will make the terms of any contract even more important; the fully guaranteed money at signing, or lack thereof, will shine plenty of light on whether the veteran is at risk of being thrown overboard if/when Rodgers shows up.
There’s also a chance that, if/when Rodgers decides to take a job with one of the team to which he has been linked, no jobs will be open. He surely understands this fact, and he seems to be willing to accept the risk that the chairs will be filled — and won’t be tipped over and emptied — if/when he finally decides to make his move.
On Wednesday’s PFT Live, I complained about Rodgers seemingly waiting to make his choice. It now seems that he’s strategically waiting for whether he’ll have a chance to choose the Vikings. Which, if true, raises a key question for the Steelers and Giants.
How long are you going to sit around and wait for Rodgers?
The Vikings have agreed to terms with free agent wide receiver Rondale Moore, the team announced Wednesday.
Moore, 24, visited the Vikings five days ago and also took trips to the Jets, Titans and Bears.
Moore was traded from the Cardinals to the Falcons ahead of the 2024 season, but he injured his right knee in training camp and missed the entire season.
Moore, 24, was a second-round pick of Arizona in 2021, and he spent three seasons in Arizona.
He had 135 catches for 1,201 yards and three touchdowns with the Cardinals, while also running 52 times for 249 yards and a score. Moore also saw time as a returner in his rookie season.
The Falcons have added some depth to their secondary.
Jordan Fuller is signing with the Falcons, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
The 27-year-old Fuller was a 2020 sixth-round pick of the Rams who played four years in Los Angeles and then signed a one-year contract with the Panthers last year.
Last year Fuller opened the season as a starter for the Panthers but missed time with a hamstring injury and then was a healthy scratch for two games late in the season. The Falcons will hope he can earn playing time on defense, and he may also contribute on special teams in Atlanta.
Quarterback is back.
After a one-year hiatus, driven by the fact that the producers couldn’t find anyone to do it, the Netflix Quarterback series will return for 2025.
Netflix announced the move on Wednesday, with a trailer featuring the three subjects of the show: Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Lions quarterback Jared Goff, and Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Last year, the effort pivoted to a quintet of pass catchers, and it was dubbed Receiver.
The 2025 show will undoubtedly chronicle the trio of quarterbacks’ respective 2024 seasons, only one of which culminated in a playoff berth. And since the show won’t be landing until July, there’s a chance the storylines will trickle into the offseason — with Burrow pushing the Bengals to quit being so cheap with other players and with Cousins trying to finagle an exit from Atlanta.
Other obvious topics for consideration will be the December robbery of Burrow’s home by a group (allegedly) of Chilean nationals, the benching of Cousins for Michael Penix, Jr., and the failure of the Lions to get beyond the divisional round of the playoffs despite sky-high expectations.
