Former second round pick forecasted as surprise cut candidate for Falcons

Training camp is right around the corner. The smell of football is becoming clearer and more fragrant and by god, it smells good. Especially for the Atlanta Falcons and their fans, who expect a massive upgrade from the past three years, where they couldn’t escape the 7-10 ceiling that head coach Arthur Smith kept this organization under. One of the consequences of those Smith years was just forecasted as a surprise cut candidate for the Falcons by Pro Football Network’s Dakota Randall. Randall recognized former second-round pick safety Richie Grant as Atlanta’s potential casualty, which surprises Falcons fans.

A second-round pick in 2021, Richie Grant hasn’t lived up to the hype since arriving in Atlanta. He’s firmly on the roster bubble, and cutting him would result in just an $843,000 dead cap hit.

Randall hit it on the nail. Grant hasn’t met his expectations as a second-round pick in general manager Terry Fontenot’s first draft in Atlanta in 2021. Grant has been a solid to even good piece when he’s playing the run or going forward toward the line of scrimmage, which should give him an advantage in head coach Raheem Morris’ cover-three-heavy scheme. As a robber running mate next to Bates, there is a way that Grant can carve out a role in this defense. It’s when Grant has to cover down the field (Grant’s 42.4 PFF grade was fourth-worst among safeties last season) where the issues arise.

2024 is Grant’s last season on his rookie contract, and Morris has nothing tying him to the former UCF Golden Knight. If Grant doesn’t show something this off-season, he could find himself on the chopping block for second-year seventh-round safety DeMarcco Hellams and free agent acquisition Dane Cruikshank.

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