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The Atlanta Falcons are continuing to take a look at free agents to join their squad.
This week, the franchise will host defensive tackle Vincent Taylor for a visit, according to a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero on Tuesday, April 12.
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Taylor Entered the League in 2017
Taylor, 28, first joined the NFL in 2017 as a sixth-round (194th overall) pick by the Miami Dolphins.
The Oklahoma State product played 13 games during his rookie year before he was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury, which cut ended his season early. His second year in the league was also derailed by an injury. Taylor played in eight games in 2018 before suffering a foot injury and landing on the injured reserve again.
It was a “surprise” when the Dolphins released him ahead of the 2019 season because, despite Taylor’s injury setbacks, he remained a valuable asset to Miami’s defense. He logged 28 defensive stops and missed only 1 tackle during his first two seasons in the NFL with the Dolphins.
Trough 21 games, Taylor he made 45 tackles, had three QB hits, and made four tackles for a loss and two sacks.
Taylor was soon signed off the waivers to the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster late in the season and waived as a part of the 2020 season roster cuts. After being waived by Buffalo, Taylor was claimed once again off the waivers by Cleveland and appeared in 15 games for the Browns, recording 12 tackles and a fumble recovery.
His most recent stint was in Houston last season, but that was also cut short after he suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 1.
Since joining the league in 2017, Taylor has appeared in 40 NFL games, logging 65 tackles (42 solo), two sacks and four QB hits.
The Falcons’ defensive front currently consists of Grady Jarrett, Marlon Davidson, Anthony Rush, John Cominsky, Nick Thurman, and Ta’Quon Graham.
Will He Stay or Will He Go?
Grady Jarrett’s name remains on the team’s depth chart loosely as he could soon be on the trade block.
Without Matt Ryan, the Pro Bowl defensive tackle is currently the Falcons’ highest-paid player on the team at $16 million with a cap hit of $23 million, per Spotrac.
If the Falcons plan to re-sign him, it will have to be through an extension, which will allow the team to restructure his contract to lower his cap hit in order to free up more money for Atlanta to sign free agents and their 2022 draft class.
Another option is to just trade Jarrett and save a whopping $16 million bucks, but that doesn’t seem to be the direction the Falcons plan to go.
“I’m not going to predict that I 100 percent know,” head coach Arthur Smith said on March 29 at the NFL owners’ meetings, via AtlantaFalcons.com. “He knows where we stand. We love Grady. We also know that players may have their own opinions, and that’s welcome. It’s part of doing business. We’ll see how it plays out. I love Grady and we’d love to keep coaching him.”
Jarrett will turn 29 before the 2022 season and it’s possible he could be looking for a contender, it’s also possible that the Falcons could be looking for a trade as a way to free up cash as they look toward their rebuild.
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