March 10, 2025 • 26 mins
Disclaimer: The statements and opinions regarding players and/or potential future players in this podcast are those of the AtlantaFalcons.com editorial staff and not those of the Atlanta Falcons' football personnel unless noted otherwise.
Will McFadden and Tori McElhaney react to the shocking reports on Monday that the Falcons are releasing longtime defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. The fan favorite and team captain has been a franchise staple for a decade, but the move has some merits. Will and Tori process it all live on the mics.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Thirty birds.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
What's up and welcome to another Atlanta Falcons podcast. I'm
your host t Will McFadden, joined by Tory mclaney and
Tory We've got some pretty big news that we are
here to cover.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
Unfortunately, yeah, unfortunately, well, I mean, I guess it's according
to how you look at it. But unfortunately or fortunately
for the Falcons, they now have sixteen million dollars towards
the cap. But they did release Grady Jarrett officially Monday afternoon.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
We're recording this kind of as the news is coming out.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Grady was playing on the second to last year of
his deal.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
And he had no guaranteed money left.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
So I know, on this podcast and within this podcast network,
we've been talking a lot about how the Grady Jarrett
contract was a bit like the elephant in the room
of this offseason.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Was Grady Jarrett.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Untouchable because of who he is and what he's done
for this organization, this community and being a guy who's
been such an integral part of the Atlanta Falcons organization's
organization for a decade. Would you part ways with him
because he's too expensive and how much he was going
to cost towards the cap, which was north of sixteen
(01:15):
million dollars. And the answer to that is, yes, he
wasn't untouchable, and the Falcons did release him, which I
think was a big shock for me personally, but also
a little bit professionally. I also, as a professional working
journalist covering the team, I thought that there would be
(01:38):
little doubt that they would be able to figure out
a way to keep Grady Jared, especially when the day
before it's reported that Jake Matthews gets a two year
contract extension as well, so they move some money around
get cap compliant.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
I kind of just assumed, oh, they're not.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
If they do touch Grady, it'll be a restructure, it'll
be an extension. I think the release was quite shocking,
to be completely honest.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Yeah, I think it's it's fair to understand how they
got here and still be a little bit stunned by
the actual move itself. And like you said, you know,
this is kind of where we logically thought the off
season could go. I did feel I agree with you that,
(02:26):
you know, when I saw the extension news for Jake Matthews,
I was like, Okay, this is the mode that they're
going to take a little bit They're going to keep
some of these like legacy veterans who have been the
cornerstones of this franchise around for the next little stretch here,
and you can extend that money out and it like
lessens your cap hit immediately and it can kind of
(02:48):
solve a few different problems. That's the path that they're
going to take here. So to see the outlet outright
release of Grady is is tough on on like a
lot of fronts, right if you're going to move on,
the competitor in me is like, okay, well, could you
have gotten anything for him? Could you have worked out
of trade? You know, a thirty two year old defensive
tackle coming off of now two years removed but an
(03:10):
ACL injury like as tough is that is his value
as high as it once was? Probably not. But I
then also think about this as kind of an extension
of something that I just have been filing away in
the back of my mind with the Raheem Morris era.
I think here because my last time in the building
(03:30):
was with Dan Quinn and they get compared a lot.
But this was one way that I noticed some contrasting
qualities and it was really with like the holding players
accountable a little bit publicly and saying the things for
like that aren't easy to say, but are kind of
the right things to say in that moment. And I
noticed just early on in the season him kind of saying, yeah,
(03:52):
our pass rush isn't anywhere where we want it to be,
right like in kind of speaking truth a little bit
in that moment. Then you see after this season with
moves like Jimmy Lake and the Kirk Cousins, you know, Benching, honestly,
internally me personally, Will McFadden, I didn't think they were
going to make that move even when they did.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
And so this is kind of like that where I'm like,
I get this move.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
It's it hurts and it sucks, But for the Atlanta
Falcons football organization, I get it.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
I understand why you make this decision.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
And also I think it should go on the record
that it has been reported that the Falcons did make
an offer to Grady Jarrett that's to keep him in Atlanta.
I think that a lot of people see the news
and everything like that, and you just see the one
like Falcons have released Grady Jarrett. But there's so much
more that goes into these conversations and the reports are that,
(04:49):
And I'll use Jeremy Fowler's report that kind of came
out around like one point thirty in the afternoon on Monday,
was that the Falcons did offer him a reduced deal,
but he felt more confident in his market value than
what they offered. And I think that's a very I
think to your point, like what is the market value
for someone like Grady Jarrett? And in this scenario, I
(05:11):
feel as that the Falcons were sitting there thinking one thing,
and Grady Jarrett, in his team and potentially who they're
talking to, has something different and it just didn't the line.
And I think it's no one's fault that that didn't
the line, you know.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
And I think that from all the.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Conversations that I've had with Grady Jarrett over the last year,
I think he feels that he has a lot left
in the tank.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Yeah, can you talk about that a little bit more?
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Because that was the like, Toria an awesome column out
on the website right now, go read it please, But
that that was the part that really stuck out to
me was kind of the juxtaposition between this moment where
we ended up and kind of looking back at where
you were this summer with him and in that quiet
moment and kind of so tell us a little bit
about that.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
So, I mean, like we've said on this podcast before,
you've seen it all over my social media. Are Digital
team spent the whole last year with Grady Jarrett and
telling the story of him rehabbing from the season ending
knee injury that he sustained in twenty twenty three to
get back to the gridiron for twenty twenty four, which
(06:15):
just happened to be his tenth year in the league.
That in and of itself, a defensive tackle that was
drafted in the fifth round by an organization, having spent
a decade with the same organization that he got drafted by,
while also being a home like from Conyers, Georgia, like
right down.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
The road, that is rarity, Like that is a rare.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Set of circumstances, And so we were very compelled to
tell that story of Grady Jarrett working back to year
ten while also kind of telling this other parallel story
of what ten years with one organization means to him.
And I'm super super thankful that we had that moment
of the last year of being able to tell that
story because now looking back on that process, it is
(06:58):
this is this weird thing in my head where it
feels so different now than it did in the moment,
and I think back to this one specific moment where
it was one of it was the last interview that
we did with him for the project. We had gosh,
five or six meetups with him, seven or eight if
you include some of the workouts that.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
We did with him.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Literally we spend so much time with Grady and his
family last off season and he it's me and him,
and you know, it's We had this idea of putting
him for the last interview in the locker room at
Mercedes beIN Stadium because it felt very symbolic because of
how I mean, he's been the one him and Jake
(07:38):
Matthews kind of been the consistent pieces of the last
decade for this organization that has seen massive overhauls and
had to say goodbye to a lot of players that
you thought would potentially end up being Falcons for the
entirety of their career.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
Yeah, and it didn't happen.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
So sitting him down and it was very like we
turned off all the lights and the only lights that
were on him, were the like two big camera lights
and kind of we're just having this conversation about his
legacy and what it means to him to ultimately have
been a part of this organization in this community, not
just for ten years before his entire life, and he
(08:16):
was so I thought everything that he said was so
poignant in that he understands that this is a business
and he understands that it's not forever. I mean, he
was even contemplating the fact that, like the amount of
times that he said, you know, for as much as
you want to try and make a name for yourself,
(08:36):
people can forget you just as fast.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
It's just the nature of the league. And you can't
be sad and upset about that. But it's it's the reality,
the unfortunate reality.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
But he's like, but I have to fight and work
every day to be and what he said, like be
one of those ones and to be a guy that
has a legacy that speaks for itself. And I think
that him actually going off and potentially having the latter
part of his career somewhere else is evidence of him
(09:07):
wanting to further submit or submit his own legacy as
one of the best defensive tackles of the last decade,
and I'm really curious to see kind of where he goes,
where he lands, and what ends up happening. But I
don't think that this, by any means is kind of
a symbol that Grady's done. I actually think it's evidence
(09:29):
to the contrary that he wants to go out and
continue to submit himself. And that was something that even
with all the emotional kind of feelings you have about
Grady Jarrett no longer being an Atlanta Falcon, that was
the piece of it that I don't think he's done.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
I don't think that.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
I think that he has just as much fire as
he's always had. I mean, I've gosh, if not more
so in the last year from the conversations that I've
had with him. And also let's just be honest too
that like Grady Jarrett is always going to be a
part of Atlanta. Like, yeah, this does not this release
to me, does not mean the end of Grady's partnership
(10:11):
with Atlanta. What he's doing in the community, that's never
gonna end. Like that's something that's always going to be
a part of Grady and his DNA and who he is.
And I think that even though the Atlanta Falcons are
kind of having to our parting ways with Grady Jarrett,
that doesn't mean that the city, the community, and what
Grady Jarrett has been for Atlanta the last ten years
(10:31):
goes away too. I think, if anything, it furthers cements
who he is well.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
And I think that that is part of why the
value question when it comes to Grady jarreted specifically, is
so hard to answer, because the value of Grady Jarrett
to the Atlanta Falcons and to Atlanta Falcons fans is
intrinsically more than him to probably any of the other
thirty one teams because of just what he has done
(10:59):
for the community. Kind of that that relationship that he
has built organically naturally. But to the other part of
your point, like think about how he broke onto the
national stage. It was on the biggest possible stage, imaginable.
It was in the Super Bowl with three sacks against
Tom Brady. So like, yeah, this dude in his second
(11:20):
season kind of went to the highest height and he
has and we've both witnessed this firsthand, like performed every
minute of every day since then, working at the level
it takes to get back, like he is the consummate,
first one in, last one out. Like everything he's doing
is geared towards that singular mission. So I would understand
(11:43):
from his perspective, like, yeah, get me an opportunity here,
my last opportunity, probably to go out there and kind
of like really compete, because at his heart, like he
is a competitor.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
And I think like.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
It would be easy to I think label some of
this as all right, yep, another year like seven and
ten again, kind of like saying the same things at
the end of the season. But I truly have believed
Grady every single time he's like, man, I'm pissed we
didn't make the playoffs, you know, like that frustration could
(12:18):
could kind of get a little bit old or stale
or feel phoned in a little bit, but it never
did with Grady, because I sensed that he was genuinely
like upset with the result every single time, like nobody
wants it more. So that's where I think a lot
of the fans sentiment is going to be, like this,
this sucks because we wanted it to be here with Grady.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Right, you wanted it for him, Yeah, because he wanted
it just as much for the organization and wanted.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
It more right, So it's like, if you're going to
get it, like then go get it, go get it.
And he I've been thinking a lot about a juxtaposition
with another former Falcon defensive tackle, Jonathan Babino, who overlapped
for two seasons, I believe with Grady and Babineau's last
year was the Super Bowl run in twenty sixteen, so
(13:06):
it's like they almost had kind of these mirror careers,
but where Babino's ended on kind of this high of
like I've put in all this work and now I'm
going out on top a little bit. You just wish
you would have had that maybe for Grady.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Maybe to a certain extent.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
And I don't want This is me just saying this
from my perspective, not anybody I've talked to or anything
like that original Tory Tam.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
I just I feel like with Grady, maybe he did
want or need to change, you know, like I don't
who knows. And I think he'll have the opportunity wherever
he lands, he'll have a press conference and he'll be
able to speak his part of this, and I know
I'll be watching and I feel like I'm curious to
see kind of what he says about this whole process
(13:51):
and kind of what his goals and aspirations are as
an individual take away the fact of his connection to Atlanta.
But Grady Jarrett the football player, what did he feel
like was best for him? If he felt like what
was best for him was staying in Atlanta, perhaps they
got they could have gotten a deal done and he
could still be in Atlanta.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
I don't think it was.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
I think that both parties tried. I think there was
an attempt. It didn't work out, And that's again the nature.
It's kind of the harsh reality of the NFL that
you have to to play ball with a little bit.
But that doesn't mean that it doesn't suck. Yeah, And
I think that's where we can get into the emotions
of it a little bit right now. Like I know,
I'm sitting here and in myself knowing how much time
(14:35):
and effort I spent going through Grady Jarrett's entire story
for the last ten years in Atlanta, and I was
driving into the facility and it's pouring down rain and
I'm just like upset about it.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
The weather was like weirdly perfect for this kind of News.
It's like Atlanta is just like weeping for him. Hey,
you know, I understand it.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
I was driving in and I was actually listen.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
I pulled up the last like two and a half
minute of what the year ten Grady Jared project that
we did.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
I pulled up the last ten minutes of it, and
I'm not gonna lie, like.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
A couple of tears escaped the old eyeballs because I
was just so I felt like.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
I lived those ten years, you know, with You're just.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Picturing you like turning on the graduation song by like
Vitamin C, and you're just like looking at like it's
the it's the Wolverine meme. It's just like staring at
the picture of Green Jarret when he was drafted and
just like so sad.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
I mean, same, man, it's so.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
Bad because like this, it really doesn't.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
I said, I wrote this in the column too, that
it feels a little bit reminiscent of when Matt Ryan
was traded to Indianapolis and kind of felt very similar.
And I was very fortunate that we were. I felt
like we were able to be a part of Matt
Ryan's retirement and be able to celebrate him. Accordingly, you
don't get to do that very often, so I hope
(15:58):
and like.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Less and less.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
I think that's like when we say he it feels
kind of like one of the last ones, you know,
Matt Julio Grady when it happens to Jake as it
appensence everybody.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Like who after that, Yeah, it's like a j Trell Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
And but like he at this point now feels like
a firm established veteran for this team. He was drafted
five years ago, right, That's it's crazy just how we
don't have that many Like I don't Marty and Prados
al Morpord's you know, just like these kind of guys
who were there for just decade yeah, not like your
(16:36):
Chipper Jones's right, but are just hey glue guys for
a decade plus. Like that's that's like we're kind of
missing that in sports. It's going away. It is so yeah,
like today feels truly like the end of an era.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
Yeah, and I think there's like a lot of like
what we're saying, like there's a lot of emotions like
attached to that, especially when it's someone like Grady who.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Does it the right way, like every step of the way.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
If you're a kid, and you want to model your
game after anyone, model it after Grady Jarrett, even if
you don't, if you play pick a ball, like, model
it after Grady Jarrett, like go after life and your
pursuit of what you want like Grady Jarrett.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
And I think that's just kind.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Of where where I'm at too, because there was this
one even me like personally, he had this quote that
he said to me while we were doing this project,
and I'll never forget it, but he said, my surroundings
don't dictate my effort.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
And it's like I can live by that.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Everybody can live by that, that your surroundings don't dictate
how much effort you're putting into something. And I think
that and he said, that's kind of what I want
my legacy to be. If there's anything that I want
it to be, I want it to be that. And
I think his legacy speaks for itself.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
Like we may be talking.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
He may not retire for another five or six years, yeah,
I think, and right, I hope he goes on, and
I hope he has so much success because he deserves it.
But you wish it would have been with Atlanta, you know,
like you wish that it could have ended on a
different note, but that's again the business of this.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
So let's briefly talk about where this leaves Atlanta before
we wrap up without Grady Jarrett. Currently, David Onyamada would
be kind of like the leader of that interior defensive
line group. They of course drafted Ruke Rover Roe, and
Brandon Dorles last year in the second and third rounds
or fourth rounds. And then Zach Harrison is also kind
(18:30):
of in the mix as a little bit of a
joker to me, Like I don't know where he plugs
it right, especially with.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
Jeff Ulbrick, Like what is going to want him to do?
Speaker 2 (18:39):
He is your base four down end without anyway? Does
this where does this move interior defensive line on kind
of your offseason priority list for Atlanta? Like is is
it still behind edge and secondary? Does it move up
in the mix? Like where are young?
Speaker 4 (19:00):
It's so difficult.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
I think it has to be above secondary now I
actually think that it moves it to.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
I think I just think.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
It's the front seven, like or the front four, you know,
Like I think it's your interior line, just your defensive line.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
Like I just think that It's funny.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Because literally two weeks ago we were talking about all
of the holes I felt like the defense needed to
feel and how much free agency money, how much draft
capital you were going to need to infuse into this
defense this offseason. With Grady Jarrett no longer on the team,
that magnifies that tenfold in my mind, because Grady Jarrett
(19:43):
has been the heart and soul of this defense for
a decade and the fact that you kind of need
to find someone who can take over one the mental
capacity of like being the true leader the buck stops
with me type of person in the locker room, and
also what Grady Jarrett did for this defensive front as
(20:07):
just a production maniac, and I know the production hasn't
really been there the last few years with the injury.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
But you also have to think about how teams are playing.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
There is not an offensive coordinator that was facing Atlanta
that did not know where ninety seven was on the
field at all times, and I think you've got to
find there are so many times when I was talking
about the Falcons defense over the last five years, I
would ask the question of who are you scared of?
Who strikes fear into the opposing offensive line or opposing quarterbacks.
(20:38):
It was always Grady Jarrett. Yeah, who can you say
can do that now? I don't know if you could
have anyone you can say right now you feel confident
that you have that guy, You've got to go find
him and you've got to do what you've got to
do to find him, because at this point in time.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
I don't know who that would be.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
And so there are a lot of things that, like,
without Grady Jarrett, you have to refeel And I think
Jesse Bates can be.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
The leader of this defense easily. I think he has
He's that guy.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Yeah, I think a j Traill kind of more of
a quieter, like I'm gonna let my play speak for
itself type of guy. But who on that defensive front
can can take over past the baton, if you will,
from Grady Jarrett to whatever comes next.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
And it's gonna be it's gonna be tough.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
You know, you have some money to a little bit
more money to play around with, but not that much
as we're seeing literally as we're talking defensive tackles and
what they're being what contracts they're being given, and Yep,
I don't know. I just I worry about where this
puts the Falcons defense, and it's gonna be up to
Terry Fondo in this front office to really figure things
(21:48):
out because this defense has a microsk I'm putting a
microscope on this defense and how much they need to
reevaluate with it.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Yeah, it does feel almost like it's it was always
going to be hard to compete in free agency. Certainly,
you know, when the cap went up, I think everybody
looked at that as a good thing for the Falcons,
and ultimately I think it was just because of how
much they were, you know, under the cap. But now
that becomes detrimental because other teams also got that bump
they may have had, you know, all but four teams
(22:21):
did more space to play around with. So now you're
just seeing some really big contracts out there, and I
just kind of come back to the draft those right now,
those first two rounds, like it's got to be defensive line,
it's got to be a corner. Like, to me, that's
that is what I need to come out. Sure, could
you come away with two defensive linemen? Could you come
(22:43):
away with a corner and a pass rushing linebacker? Like
there are ways you could do that. But those are
like the two gotta have it positions for me.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Now, It's funny because I am doing its mock draft season,
of course, and I'm doing a mock draft every single
week leading up to the draft. At this point, I'm
just like, I'm just going to go back and forwards, edge,
do tackle, edge, do tackle, edge to tackle, corner edge,
do tackle.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
It does.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Yeah, it opens up a little bit more. I guess
possibility of like who could be in play there at
fifteen And I mean, like we we did our top
five free agent defensive tackle lists last week. It went
up on the site, so go go check that out,
and then I picked Jaron Reid is kind of like
he's he'll be thirty two as well, so same age
as Grady. But if you could get him for like
(23:29):
five million, six million dollars and save yourself kind of
ten million dollars in cap and still get a quality
player for a year or two, maybe that's an approach
that the Falcons can take. So there are a few
different ways that they can go about this. We should
before we get out of here, mentioned that that Drew
Dolman also signed a deal reportedly with Chicago, so it
(23:50):
looks as though he will not be back, So the
Falcons have a couple of players in the trenches who
are moving on after the twenty twenty four season. Unfortunately,
Toy anything else to say about Grady or Drew Dolmond
before we get out of here.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Yeah, I mean Drew Domond. I think I expected. I
think a lot of people were like, oh, his market
value might be a little too much. It ended up
being a little less than what I originally thought it was,
which I was kind of surprised about. I do think
that this opens the door for someone like Ryan Nusel.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
I think that's I think that's how they'll go about
I do.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
I do think so, And I don't have any you know,
no one's told me that, but I think, to me,
if I'm putting this roster get together, you have somebody
who you could get on a cap friendly deal who
has the experience with this group, with this new quarterback.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
That kind of continuity, yeah in place.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
It makes that makes that seems like an easy decision
all around.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
With Grady, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
I'm sad, and there's a lot of things that I
can say and that I would love to say, but
I'm just feel like I'm not able to articulate it
quite yet, and I think in the column I ended
the column just saying, you know, it maybe simple, but
the profound part of what I would want to say
to Grady is thank you, Grady, but also to reinforce
(25:09):
to him that his legacy does speak for itself, Like,
regardless of how this thing ends, I will remember Grady Jared,
and I will essentially almost put him on a pedestal
for what type of athlete I think people should try
to be.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
Like, yeah, there's there's probably not a better way to
put that, so I won't try. We'll let that be
the way that we end this podcast. So thank you
guys so much for listening or watching. This is an
audio only episode, but you can check out all of
our podcasts that we have a video for on our
(25:46):
YouTube channel, along with other really great content a lot
of Grady Jared highlights over the years, to go check
those out, as well our written content on Atlanta Falcons
dot com. We will have free agency coverage just hot
and heavy the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
It's crazy.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
The new league year starts March twelfth, so get ready
for that. But that will do it for Tory mclaney,
I am Will McFadden. Thank you guys so much for listening,
and we will see you all soon.
Thirty birds.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
What's up and welcome to another Atlanta Falcons podcast. I'm
your host t Will McFadden, joined by Tory mclaney and
Tory We've got some pretty big news that we are
here to cover.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
Unfortunately, yeah, unfortunately, well, I mean, I guess it's according
to how you look at it. But unfortunately or fortunately
for the Falcons, they now have sixteen million dollars towards
the cap. But they did release Grady Jarrett officially Monday afternoon.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
We're recording this kind of as the news is coming out.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Grady was playing on the second to last year of
his deal.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
And he had no guaranteed money left.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
So I know, on this podcast and within this podcast network,
we've been talking a lot about how the Grady Jarrett
contract was a bit like the elephant in the room
of this offseason.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Was Grady Jarrett.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Untouchable because of who he is and what he's done
for this organization, this community and being a guy who's
been such an integral part of the Atlanta Falcons organization's
organization for a decade. Would you part ways with him
because he's too expensive and how much he was going
to cost towards the cap, which was north of sixteen
(01:15):
million dollars. And the answer to that is, yes, he
wasn't untouchable, and the Falcons did release him, which I
think was a big shock for me personally, but also
a little bit professionally. I also, as a professional working
journalist covering the team, I thought that there would be
(01:38):
little doubt that they would be able to figure out
a way to keep Grady Jared, especially when the day
before it's reported that Jake Matthews gets a two year
contract extension as well, so they move some money around
get cap compliant.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
I kind of just assumed, oh, they're not.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
If they do touch Grady, it'll be a restructure, it'll
be an extension. I think the release was quite shocking,
to be completely honest.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Yeah, I think it's it's fair to understand how they
got here and still be a little bit stunned by
the actual move itself. And like you said, you know,
this is kind of where we logically thought the off
season could go. I did feel I agree with you that,
(02:26):
you know, when I saw the extension news for Jake Matthews,
I was like, Okay, this is the mode that they're
going to take a little bit They're going to keep
some of these like legacy veterans who have been the
cornerstones of this franchise around for the next little stretch here,
and you can extend that money out and it like
lessens your cap hit immediately and it can kind of
(02:48):
solve a few different problems. That's the path that they're
going to take here. So to see the outlet outright
release of Grady is is tough on on like a
lot of fronts, right if you're going to move on,
the competitor in me is like, okay, well, could you
have gotten anything for him? Could you have worked out
of trade? You know, a thirty two year old defensive
tackle coming off of now two years removed but an
(03:10):
ACL injury like as tough is that is his value
as high as it once was? Probably not. But I
then also think about this as kind of an extension
of something that I just have been filing away in
the back of my mind with the Raheem Morris era.
I think here because my last time in the building
(03:30):
was with Dan Quinn and they get compared a lot.
But this was one way that I noticed some contrasting
qualities and it was really with like the holding players
accountable a little bit publicly and saying the things for
like that aren't easy to say, but are kind of
the right things to say in that moment. And I
noticed just early on in the season him kind of saying, yeah,
(03:52):
our pass rush isn't anywhere where we want it to be,
right like in kind of speaking truth a little bit
in that moment. Then you see after this season with
moves like Jimmy Lake and the Kirk Cousins, you know, Benching, honestly,
internally me personally, Will McFadden, I didn't think they were
going to make that move even when they did.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
And so this is kind of like that where I'm like,
I get this move.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
It's it hurts and it sucks, But for the Atlanta
Falcons football organization, I get it.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
I understand why you make this decision.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
And also I think it should go on the record
that it has been reported that the Falcons did make
an offer to Grady Jarrett that's to keep him in Atlanta.
I think that a lot of people see the news
and everything like that, and you just see the one
like Falcons have released Grady Jarrett. But there's so much
more that goes into these conversations and the reports are that,
(04:49):
And I'll use Jeremy Fowler's report that kind of came
out around like one point thirty in the afternoon on Monday,
was that the Falcons did offer him a reduced deal,
but he felt more confident in his market value than
what they offered. And I think that's a very I
think to your point, like what is the market value
for someone like Grady Jarrett? And in this scenario, I
(05:11):
feel as that the Falcons were sitting there thinking one thing,
and Grady Jarrett, in his team and potentially who they're
talking to, has something different and it just didn't the line.
And I think it's no one's fault that that didn't
the line, you know.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
And I think that from all the.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Conversations that I've had with Grady Jarrett over the last year,
I think he feels that he has a lot left
in the tank.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Yeah, can you talk about that a little bit more?
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Because that was the like, Toria an awesome column out
on the website right now, go read it please, But
that that was the part that really stuck out to
me was kind of the juxtaposition between this moment where
we ended up and kind of looking back at where
you were this summer with him and in that quiet
moment and kind of so tell us a little bit
about that.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
So, I mean, like we've said on this podcast before,
you've seen it all over my social media. Are Digital
team spent the whole last year with Grady Jarrett and
telling the story of him rehabbing from the season ending
knee injury that he sustained in twenty twenty three to
get back to the gridiron for twenty twenty four, which
(06:15):
just happened to be his tenth year in the league.
That in and of itself, a defensive tackle that was
drafted in the fifth round by an organization, having spent
a decade with the same organization that he got drafted by,
while also being a home like from Conyers, Georgia, like
right down.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
The road, that is rarity, Like that is a rare.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Set of circumstances, And so we were very compelled to
tell that story of Grady Jarrett working back to year
ten while also kind of telling this other parallel story
of what ten years with one organization means to him.
And I'm super super thankful that we had that moment
of the last year of being able to tell that
story because now looking back on that process, it is
(06:58):
this is this weird thing in my head where it
feels so different now than it did in the moment,
and I think back to this one specific moment where
it was one of it was the last interview that
we did with him for the project. We had gosh,
five or six meetups with him, seven or eight if
you include some of the workouts that.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
We did with him.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Literally we spend so much time with Grady and his
family last off season and he it's me and him,
and you know, it's We had this idea of putting
him for the last interview in the locker room at
Mercedes beIN Stadium because it felt very symbolic because of
how I mean, he's been the one him and Jake
(07:38):
Matthews kind of been the consistent pieces of the last
decade for this organization that has seen massive overhauls and
had to say goodbye to a lot of players that
you thought would potentially end up being Falcons for the
entirety of their career.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
Yeah, and it didn't happen.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
So sitting him down and it was very like we
turned off all the lights and the only lights that
were on him, were the like two big camera lights
and kind of we're just having this conversation about his
legacy and what it means to him to ultimately have
been a part of this organization in this community, not
just for ten years before his entire life, and he
(08:16):
was so I thought everything that he said was so
poignant in that he understands that this is a business
and he understands that it's not forever. I mean, he
was even contemplating the fact that, like the amount of
times that he said, you know, for as much as
you want to try and make a name for yourself,
(08:36):
people can forget you just as fast.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
It's just the nature of the league. And you can't
be sad and upset about that. But it's it's the reality,
the unfortunate reality.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
But he's like, but I have to fight and work
every day to be and what he said, like be
one of those ones and to be a guy that
has a legacy that speaks for itself. And I think
that him actually going off and potentially having the latter
part of his career somewhere else is evidence of him
(09:07):
wanting to further submit or submit his own legacy as
one of the best defensive tackles of the last decade,
and I'm really curious to see kind of where he goes,
where he lands, and what ends up happening. But I
don't think that this, by any means is kind of
a symbol that Grady's done. I actually think it's evidence
(09:29):
to the contrary that he wants to go out and
continue to submit himself. And that was something that even
with all the emotional kind of feelings you have about
Grady Jarrett no longer being an Atlanta Falcon, that was
the piece of it that I don't think he's done.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
I don't think that.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
I think that he has just as much fire as
he's always had. I mean, I've gosh, if not more
so in the last year from the conversations that I've
had with him. And also let's just be honest too
that like Grady Jarrett is always going to be a
part of Atlanta. Like, yeah, this does not this release
to me, does not mean the end of Grady's partnership
(10:11):
with Atlanta. What he's doing in the community, that's never
gonna end. Like that's something that's always going to be
a part of Grady and his DNA and who he is.
And I think that even though the Atlanta Falcons are
kind of having to our parting ways with Grady Jarrett,
that doesn't mean that the city, the community, and what
Grady Jarrett has been for Atlanta the last ten years
(10:31):
goes away too. I think, if anything, it furthers cements
who he is well.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
And I think that that is part of why the
value question when it comes to Grady jarreted specifically, is
so hard to answer, because the value of Grady Jarrett
to the Atlanta Falcons and to Atlanta Falcons fans is
intrinsically more than him to probably any of the other
thirty one teams because of just what he has done
(10:59):
for the community. Kind of that that relationship that he
has built organically naturally. But to the other part of
your point, like think about how he broke onto the
national stage. It was on the biggest possible stage, imaginable.
It was in the Super Bowl with three sacks against
Tom Brady. So like, yeah, this dude in his second
(11:20):
season kind of went to the highest height and he
has and we've both witnessed this firsthand, like performed every
minute of every day since then, working at the level
it takes to get back, like he is the consummate,
first one in, last one out. Like everything he's doing
is geared towards that singular mission. So I would understand
(11:43):
from his perspective, like, yeah, get me an opportunity here,
my last opportunity, probably to go out there and kind
of like really compete, because at his heart, like he
is a competitor.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
And I think like.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
It would be easy to I think label some of
this as all right, yep, another year like seven and
ten again, kind of like saying the same things at
the end of the season. But I truly have believed
Grady every single time he's like, man, I'm pissed we
didn't make the playoffs, you know, like that frustration could
(12:18):
could kind of get a little bit old or stale
or feel phoned in a little bit, but it never
did with Grady, because I sensed that he was genuinely
like upset with the result every single time, like nobody
wants it more. So that's where I think a lot
of the fans sentiment is going to be, like this,
this sucks because we wanted it to be here with Grady.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Right, you wanted it for him, Yeah, because he wanted
it just as much for the organization and wanted.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
It more right, So it's like, if you're going to
get it, like then go get it, go get it.
And he I've been thinking a lot about a juxtaposition
with another former Falcon defensive tackle, Jonathan Babino, who overlapped
for two seasons, I believe with Grady and Babineau's last
year was the Super Bowl run in twenty sixteen, so
(13:06):
it's like they almost had kind of these mirror careers,
but where Babino's ended on kind of this high of
like I've put in all this work and now I'm
going out on top a little bit. You just wish
you would have had that maybe for Grady.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Maybe to a certain extent.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
And I don't want This is me just saying this
from my perspective, not anybody I've talked to or anything
like that original Tory Tam.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
I just I feel like with Grady, maybe he did
want or need to change, you know, like I don't
who knows. And I think he'll have the opportunity wherever
he lands, he'll have a press conference and he'll be
able to speak his part of this, and I know
I'll be watching and I feel like I'm curious to
see kind of what he says about this whole process
(13:51):
and kind of what his goals and aspirations are as
an individual take away the fact of his connection to Atlanta.
But Grady Jarrett the football player, what did he feel
like was best for him? If he felt like what
was best for him was staying in Atlanta, perhaps they
got they could have gotten a deal done and he
could still be in Atlanta.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
I don't think it was.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
I think that both parties tried. I think there was
an attempt. It didn't work out, And that's again the nature.
It's kind of the harsh reality of the NFL that
you have to to play ball with a little bit.
But that doesn't mean that it doesn't suck. Yeah, And
I think that's where we can get into the emotions
of it a little bit right now. Like I know,
I'm sitting here and in myself knowing how much time
(14:35):
and effort I spent going through Grady Jarrett's entire story
for the last ten years in Atlanta, and I was
driving into the facility and it's pouring down rain and
I'm just like upset about it.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
The weather was like weirdly perfect for this kind of News.
It's like Atlanta is just like weeping for him. Hey,
you know, I understand it.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
I was driving in and I was actually listen.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
I pulled up the last like two and a half
minute of what the year ten Grady Jared project that
we did.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
I pulled up the last ten minutes of it, and
I'm not gonna lie, like.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
A couple of tears escaped the old eyeballs because I
was just so I felt like.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
I lived those ten years, you know, with You're just.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Picturing you like turning on the graduation song by like
Vitamin C, and you're just like looking at like it's
the it's the Wolverine meme. It's just like staring at
the picture of Green Jarret when he was drafted and
just like so sad.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
I mean, same, man, it's so.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
Bad because like this, it really doesn't.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
I said, I wrote this in the column too, that
it feels a little bit reminiscent of when Matt Ryan
was traded to Indianapolis and kind of felt very similar.
And I was very fortunate that we were. I felt
like we were able to be a part of Matt
Ryan's retirement and be able to celebrate him. Accordingly, you
don't get to do that very often, so I hope
(15:58):
and like.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Less and less.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
I think that's like when we say he it feels
kind of like one of the last ones, you know,
Matt Julio Grady when it happens to Jake as it
appensence everybody.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Like who after that, Yeah, it's like a j Trell Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
And but like he at this point now feels like
a firm established veteran for this team. He was drafted
five years ago, right, That's it's crazy just how we
don't have that many Like I don't Marty and Prados
al Morpord's you know, just like these kind of guys
who were there for just decade yeah, not like your
(16:36):
Chipper Jones's right, but are just hey glue guys for
a decade plus. Like that's that's like we're kind of
missing that in sports. It's going away. It is so yeah,
like today feels truly like the end of an era.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
Yeah, and I think there's like a lot of like
what we're saying, like there's a lot of emotions like
attached to that, especially when it's someone like Grady who.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Does it the right way, like every step of the way.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
If you're a kid, and you want to model your
game after anyone, model it after Grady Jarrett, even if
you don't, if you play pick a ball, like, model
it after Grady Jarrett, like go after life and your
pursuit of what you want like Grady Jarrett.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
And I think that's just kind.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Of where where I'm at too, because there was this
one even me like personally, he had this quote that
he said to me while we were doing this project,
and I'll never forget it, but he said, my surroundings
don't dictate my effort.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
And it's like I can live by that.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Everybody can live by that, that your surroundings don't dictate
how much effort you're putting into something. And I think
that and he said, that's kind of what I want
my legacy to be. If there's anything that I want
it to be, I want it to be that. And
I think his legacy speaks for itself.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
Like we may be talking.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
He may not retire for another five or six years, yeah,
I think, and right, I hope he goes on, and
I hope he has so much success because he deserves it.
But you wish it would have been with Atlanta, you know,
like you wish that it could have ended on a
different note, but that's again the business of this.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
So let's briefly talk about where this leaves Atlanta before
we wrap up without Grady Jarrett. Currently, David Onyamada would
be kind of like the leader of that interior defensive
line group. They of course drafted Ruke Rover Roe, and
Brandon Dorles last year in the second and third rounds
or fourth rounds. And then Zach Harrison is also kind
(18:30):
of in the mix as a little bit of a
joker to me, Like I don't know where he plugs
it right, especially with.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
Jeff Ulbrick, Like what is going to want him to do?
Speaker 2 (18:39):
He is your base four down end without anyway? Does
this where does this move interior defensive line on kind
of your offseason priority list for Atlanta? Like is is
it still behind edge and secondary? Does it move up
in the mix? Like where are young?
Speaker 4 (19:00):
It's so difficult.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
I think it has to be above secondary now I
actually think that it moves it to.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
I think I just think.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
It's the front seven, like or the front four, you know,
Like I think it's your interior line, just your defensive line.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
Like I just think that It's funny.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Because literally two weeks ago we were talking about all
of the holes I felt like the defense needed to
feel and how much free agency money, how much draft
capital you were going to need to infuse into this
defense this offseason. With Grady Jarrett no longer on the team,
that magnifies that tenfold in my mind, because Grady Jarrett
(19:43):
has been the heart and soul of this defense for
a decade and the fact that you kind of need
to find someone who can take over one the mental
capacity of like being the true leader the buck stops
with me type of person in the locker room, and
also what Grady Jarrett did for this defensive front as
(20:07):
just a production maniac, and I know the production hasn't
really been there the last few years with the injury.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
But you also have to think about how teams are playing.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
There is not an offensive coordinator that was facing Atlanta
that did not know where ninety seven was on the
field at all times, and I think you've got to
find there are so many times when I was talking
about the Falcons defense over the last five years, I
would ask the question of who are you scared of?
Who strikes fear into the opposing offensive line or opposing quarterbacks.
(20:38):
It was always Grady Jarrett. Yeah, who can you say
can do that now? I don't know if you could
have anyone you can say right now you feel confident
that you have that guy, You've got to go find
him and you've got to do what you've got to
do to find him, because at this point in time.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
I don't know who that would be.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
And so there are a lot of things that, like,
without Grady Jarrett, you have to refeel And I think
Jesse Bates can be.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
The leader of this defense easily. I think he has
He's that guy.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Yeah, I think a j Traill kind of more of
a quieter, like I'm gonna let my play speak for
itself type of guy. But who on that defensive front
can can take over past the baton, if you will,
from Grady Jarrett to whatever comes next.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
And it's gonna be it's gonna be tough.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
You know, you have some money to a little bit
more money to play around with, but not that much
as we're seeing literally as we're talking defensive tackles and
what they're being what contracts they're being given, and Yep,
I don't know. I just I worry about where this
puts the Falcons defense, and it's gonna be up to
Terry Fondo in this front office to really figure things
(21:48):
out because this defense has a microsk I'm putting a
microscope on this defense and how much they need to
reevaluate with it.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Yeah, it does feel almost like it's it was always
going to be hard to compete in free agency. Certainly,
you know, when the cap went up, I think everybody
looked at that as a good thing for the Falcons,
and ultimately I think it was just because of how
much they were, you know, under the cap. But now
that becomes detrimental because other teams also got that bump
they may have had, you know, all but four teams
(22:21):
did more space to play around with. So now you're
just seeing some really big contracts out there, and I
just kind of come back to the draft those right now,
those first two rounds, like it's got to be defensive line,
it's got to be a corner. Like, to me, that's
that is what I need to come out. Sure, could
you come away with two defensive linemen? Could you come
(22:43):
away with a corner and a pass rushing linebacker? Like
there are ways you could do that. But those are
like the two gotta have it positions for me.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Now, It's funny because I am doing its mock draft season,
of course, and I'm doing a mock draft every single
week leading up to the draft. At this point, I'm
just like, I'm just going to go back and forwards, edge,
do tackle, edge, do tackle, edge to tackle, corner edge,
do tackle.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
It does.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Yeah, it opens up a little bit more. I guess
possibility of like who could be in play there at
fifteen And I mean, like we we did our top
five free agent defensive tackle lists last week. It went
up on the site, so go go check that out,
and then I picked Jaron Reid is kind of like
he's he'll be thirty two as well, so same age
as Grady. But if you could get him for like
(23:29):
five million, six million dollars and save yourself kind of
ten million dollars in cap and still get a quality
player for a year or two, maybe that's an approach
that the Falcons can take. So there are a few
different ways that they can go about this. We should
before we get out of here, mentioned that that Drew
Dolman also signed a deal reportedly with Chicago, so it
(23:50):
looks as though he will not be back, So the
Falcons have a couple of players in the trenches who
are moving on after the twenty twenty four season. Unfortunately,
Toy anything else to say about Grady or Drew Dolmond
before we get out of here.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Yeah, I mean Drew Domond. I think I expected. I
think a lot of people were like, oh, his market
value might be a little too much. It ended up
being a little less than what I originally thought it was,
which I was kind of surprised about. I do think
that this opens the door for someone like Ryan Nusel.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
I think that's I think that's how they'll go about
I do.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
I do think so, And I don't have any you know,
no one's told me that, but I think, to me,
if I'm putting this roster get together, you have somebody
who you could get on a cap friendly deal who
has the experience with this group, with this new quarterback.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
That kind of continuity, yeah in place.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
It makes that makes that seems like an easy decision
all around.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
With Grady, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
I'm sad, and there's a lot of things that I
can say and that I would love to say, but
I'm just feel like I'm not able to articulate it
quite yet, and I think in the column I ended
the column just saying, you know, it maybe simple, but
the profound part of what I would want to say
to Grady is thank you, Grady, but also to reinforce
(25:09):
to him that his legacy does speak for itself, Like,
regardless of how this thing ends, I will remember Grady Jared,
and I will essentially almost put him on a pedestal
for what type of athlete I think people should try
to be.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
Like, yeah, there's there's probably not a better way to
put that, so I won't try. We'll let that be
the way that we end this podcast. So thank you
guys so much for listening or watching. This is an
audio only episode, but you can check out all of
our podcasts that we have a video for on our
(25:46):
YouTube channel, along with other really great content a lot
of Grady Jared highlights over the years, to go check
those out, as well our written content on Atlanta Falcons
dot com. We will have free agency coverage just hot
and heavy the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
It's crazy.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
The new league year starts March twelfth, so get ready
for that. But that will do it for Tory mclaney,
I am Will McFadden. Thank you guys so much for listening,
and we will see you all soon.
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