Dan Quinn Explains Falcons Release of Guard, 49ers Show Interest

The Atlanta Falcons announced on Monday their decision to cut ties with offensive guard Jamon Brown.

Brown had returned to practice that day after being under concussion protocol.

“Just the fact that we met with him and said that at this point it was hard to work all of the guys through the competition,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said Wednesday via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Plus, it was a chance to get him started somewhere else. We wanted to give him the opportunity to do that.”

Brown Was Expensive

Brown signed with the Falcons last offseason with hopes to bolster the offensive line depth. He was a third-round pick by the Rams in the 2015 draft. After that, he spent some time with the New York Giants in 2018 where he started eight games.

He inked a three-year contract with Atlanta worth $18.75 million. Brown, who received a $5.5 million signing bonus, will count as a $6.5 million dead cap hit in 2020 and $1.8 million in 2021. The bright side is that there is a clause in his contract which could lower those amounts if Brown is signed by another team.

The 49ers have reportedly shown interest in Brown.

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 49ers Show Interest in Brown

According to ESPN’s Vaughn McClure, the San Francisco 49ers have invited Brown to workout on Friday.

Ther 49ers are still in need of depth on the interior after injuries, retirements, and opt-outs this offseason.

When Falcons’ right guard Chris Lindstrom suffered a broken toe, Brown stepped in a starting role. He started nine of the 10 games he appeared in last season. Overall, he has had 47 starts in 60 NFL career games.

Letting Brown go means the Falcons seem to be confident in their 2020 third-round pick Matt Hennessy and the work that James Carpenter and Justin McCray have been doing.

Battle at Left Guard

Five linemen who started games upfront in 2019 are returning for another season; Chris Lindstrom, Carpenter, Jake Matthews, Alex Mack, and Kaleb McGary.

In 2019, the Falcons ranked 28th in the NFL in sacks allowed at 50, with QB1 Matt Ryan taking 48 of them. Atlanta also ranked 30th in the league by accounting for only 85.1 rushing yards per game. Hopefully, the line will be returning with a lot of hunger for improvement.

This year the spot that’s left vacant on the offensive line is at left guard.

The Falcons drafted Hennessy as a center, but considering Alex Mack will secure his starting spot, the Falcons are looking to use Hennessy primarily at left guard. And if he’s all that he’s cracked up to be, then he’ll earn the spot.

Carpenter will continue to stay in a backup spot since he still has yet to stand out. Also, Matt Gono, an undrafted free agent from 2018, dominated at right tackle last year so it looks like could be rotating with McGary. Gono is fairly versatile on the line and the Falcons have been rotating Gono between left guard and left tackle in practice.

However, with Lindstrom being back and healthy, he looks to be a Dan Quinn favorite this offseason.

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