The Atlanta Falcons have 19 unrestricted free agents, three restricted free agents and six exclusive rights free agents with expiring contracts in 2017. In breaking down Atlanta’s pending free agents, there are quite a few who should be back without having to take up the entire remaining cap space.

Exclusive Rights Free Agents

An exclusive rights free agent is someone who has a terms of service that leaves them in either rookie, first year, or second-year. They are going to be under the team that they last played with’s control. In this case, it’s the Falcons for these six guys. They can only negotiate with the Falcons and their contracts tend to be the same as a deal at the minimum salary for their terms of service. Normally, these players are signed for just one or two years before they hit restricted free agency status. The Falcons exclusive rights free agents are as follows:

WR Nick Williams, 26, made $550,000 in 2016

Projected contract: 1 year, $615,000

TE D.J. Tialavea, 26, made $52,940 in 2016

Projected contract: 1 year, $540,000

LB Josh Keyes, 24, made $525,000 in 2016

Projected contract: 1 year, $615,000

CB Deji Olatoye, 26, made $525,000 in 2016

Projected contract: 1 years, $615,000

CB Akeem King, 24, made $480,000 in 2016

Projected contract: 1 year, $615,000

FS Ricardo Allen, 25, made $525,000 in 2016

Projected contract: 1 year, $615,000

Every one of these exclusive rights free agents should be re-signed. They will all cost the minimum for their next year in Atlanta. For Ricardo Allen, it’s kind of a bittersweet situation because getting him for pennies on the dollar is helping provide talent around him, but he deserves more. There’s still one more year before he can see real money as a restricted free agent. The rest of these players should have a role at least in training camp that makes their contracts worth it.

Restricted Free Agents

Restricted free agents are players that have accrued three seasons of service by the NFL’s standards. Atlanta currently has just three, but all of them have potentially crucial roles in the future. When looking into the contract situations of each, they couldn’t be more different from each other.

WR Taylor Gabriel, 26, made $510,000 in 2016

When it comes to one of the best restricted free agents in the NFL, the Falcons need to make sure they either keep Gabriel for relatively cheap or at least get a minimum of a second-round pick for him. Gabriel’s abilities are tough to replicate and even if you believe that Kyle Shanahan’s playcalling is why Gabriel was so good, Steve Sarkisian should be able to replicate what Shanahan did. Gabriel is worth the tender at a bare minimum. If Atlanta loses him and gets a second-round pick in return, they can draft a tight end or wide receiver that can take Gabriel’s touches in Sarkisian’s scheme.

Projected contract: 1 year, approx. $2,700,000 (Second round tender)

OL/DL Ben Garland, 29, made $550,000 in 2016

One of the biggest surprises of the 2016 season was just how good Garland was, not just at center and guard but in his limited action as a defensive tackle as well. Garland has shown that he’s worth bringing back to the roster for depth and the Falcons should re-sign him for the minimum tender. If he does get an offer to leave, Atlanta would be able to replace him pretty easily, but no one should offer more than the standard $1.8 million.

Projected contract: 1 year, approx. $1,800,000 (Right of first refusal tender)

EDGE Tyler Starr, 26, made $555,000 in 2016

Starr was a seventh-round pick out of South Dakota in 2014. He came in with a ton of potential but a combination of injuries and underperformance landed him on injured reserve in 2016. The Falcons should bring him back for 2017, but only if they can sign him for the minimum tender at $690,000.

Projected contract: No restricted tender, but re-signs at 1 year, $690,000

All three of these restricted free agents should be easy for Atlanta to retain at these prices. While the Falcons should be able to bring them back, it’s not a given that either Garland or Starr will be able to earn a roster spot in 2017. Atlanta should also look into a potential long-term extension for Gabriel that pays him somewhere in the neighborhood of what Travis Benjamin makes.

Unrestricted Free Agents

These are free agents with over four years of service completed in the NFL. The Falcons won’t be able to stop another team from signing them unless they decide to attach a franchise tag to the player. The following players are unrestricted free agents:

QB Matt Schaub, 36, made $1,750,000 in 2016

While Schaub was a good mentor for the Falcons in the 2016 season, Atlanta shouldn’t worry too hard about losing him and should honestly start thinking about drafting someone to be more of a long-term backup for Matt Ryan. Schaub shouldn’t be offered more than $2.25 million in a season. There are also rumors that he could follow Shanahan to San Francisco.

Projected contract: 1 year, $2,000,000 or retirement

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FB Patrick DiMarco, 28, made $897,500 in 2016

Fullbacks may be a dying position, but DiMarco is bringing them back. He’s never used to carry the rock, but he’s been one of the top run blockers in the NFL for several years. If the Falcons are wise, they’ll bring him back for a 2-year, $3 million deal and set him up for one more prime contract after that.

Projected contract: 2 years, $3,000,000

WR Eric Weems, 32, made $1,147,500 in 2016

In all honesty, the Falcons shouldn’t even consider bringing back Weems. He’s a 31 year-old special teams player and kick returner who brings absolutely no value to the return game with his poor judgment, which was a factor in Atlanta’s Super Bowl collapse. Weems should be allowed to walk this offseason or take the veteran minimum.

Projected contract: 1 year, $1,000,000 or retirement

WR Aldrick Robinson, 28, made $675,000 in 2016

For what Robinson provided at the veteran minimum in 2016, he should be brought back in 2017. However, the Falcons could easily replace what he brings to the table through the draft and could go that route to bring in some competition.

Projected contract: 1 year, $775,000

TE Jacob Tamme, 32, made $1,600,000 in 2016

Age and injuries make Tamme someone who isn’t worth breaking the bank for in 2016. However, Ryan loves Tamme,and he shouldn’t be expensive to bring back. Re-signing the veteran tight end to a two-year deal at low money similar to his last contract isn’t a bad idea.

Projected contract: 2 years, $3,500,000 or let walk

TE Levine Toilolo, 26, made $1,746,146 in 2016

The Falcons finally got some production out of the much-maligned tight end Toilolo, who had a career year in 2016. However, it was mainly as a blocker even though he did have the most receiving yards of his career due to being able to thrive as a forgotten man on some passing plays. Atlanta should try to re-sign Toilolo but he isn’t a priority. A good value contract would be a three-year version of Tamme’s current deal.

Projected contract: 3 years, $5,500,000 or let walk

RG Chris Chester, 34, made $2,600,000 in 2016

Chester is at the point in his career where he’s truly in a pure year-to-year mode on whether he would decide to retire or come back. It is looking more and more likely that he will finally hang it up. However, if he does decide to come back, giving him a deal that’s a slight downgrade in money again is the way to go. Atlanta could also look to upgrade right guard by bringing in a fresh face.

Projected contract: 1 years, $2,250,000 or retirement

OL Tom Compton, 28, made $785,000 in 2016

Compton provided excellent depth behind the Falcons offensive tackles in 2016 for cheap. Atlanta rarely had to use him but when they did, he performed well within the scheme. Atlanta would be wise to try and bring him back for another year at a small contract like what he was on in 2016.

Projected contract: 1 years, $1,000,000

DL Jonathan Babineaux, 35, made $2,666,667 in 2016

As good as the U.S.S. Babineaux has been during his career, it’s about time for him to hang it up. That being said, if he does decide to come back for one more run, the Falcons should look into a decrease in pay as his performance dipped this year.

Projected contract: 1 year, $1,750,000 or retirement

DL Courtney Upshaw, 27, made $1,400,000 in 2016

Upshaw surprised as a good rotational bull rusher versus both the pass and the run this year. He has potential to be a good cheaper base LEO if the Falcons decide to let Brooks Reed go due to contract reasons. A two-year deal with a base value of $5 million but highly incentive-laden would be ideal.

Projected contract: 2 years, $5,000,000

EDGE Dwight Freeney, 37, made $1,000,000 in 2016

Freeney is a great NFL player and a future Hall of Famer. If he decides to finally hang up the cleats, no one could blame him. But, if he decides to play one more year, the Falcons have the perfect contract for him at the same $1 million he made this past season. His mentorship alone is worth a couple more bucks if he wants them, but he seems to be chasing another championship at this point.

Projected contract: 1 years, $1,000,000 or retirement

LB Philip Wheeler, 32, made $965,000 in 2016

LB Sean Weatherspoon, 29, made $1,468,750 in 2016

Despite making small contracts in 2016, Wheeler and Weatherspoon both provided great depth for the Falcons at linebacker. However, Spoon got injured and Wheeler showed that he was at the end of the line for his career. Both look slow, but you can’t put a price on the experience and leadership they would bring to the team with at least a camp presence.

Projected contract: 1 year, $900,000

LB Paul Worrilow, 27, made $2,553,000 in 2016

After earning his best contract since signing his rookie deal, Worrilow saw a significant decrease in playing time this year. The Falcons should definitely bring him back for leadership and special teams purposes but on a contract that’s more team friendly. Atlanta could also try him out at strong-side linebacker in base sets to help improve on Wheeler’s play there and give Vic Beasley a breather at times.

Projected contract: 3 years, $4,000,000

LB LaRoy Reynolds, 26, made $675,000 in 2016

“Eat, dog, eat!” was a mantra that Reynolds brought to the Falcons special teams units in 2016. He didn’t make a ton of money playing as a reserve middle linebacker and special teams player, but he earned every penny. The Falcons should definitely bring him back in 2017 for a contract right at the minimum.

Projected contract: 1 year, $775,000

CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson, 27, made $119,117 in 2016

Wreh-Wilson was kind of an afterthought for the Falcons this year. He wasn’t active for any games and was kind of just a roster filler. As good as the Falcons are in the secondary, it would be shocking to see Wreh-Wilson stick in 2017 once Desmond Trufant comes back healthy. He is worth a minimum camp contract though.

Projected contract: 1 years, $775,000

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S Dashon Goldson, 32, made $1,572,867 in 2016

Goldson doesn’t have much left in the tank but he could be brought back as a camp body to mentor the young safeties on the roster. He should be cheap, as he was signed for the veteran minimum after using his vested veteran status in 2016.

Projected contract: 1 years, $900,000

S Kemal Ishmael, 26, made $1,682,474 in 2016

The former seventh-round pick earned his pay raise before his shoulder injury with exceptional play as a reserve safety. Ishmael’s versatility and abilities in coverage at the second level could also make him useful in dime situations in 2017. Bringing him back for a solid reserve deal of three-years and $6 million is a no-brainer.

Projected contract: 3 years, $6,000,000

As you can tell, the Falcons are doing well with their unrestricted free agency situation. The only one that might pose a problem to re-sign would be Upshaw, for the reasons listed above.

The Falcons also don’t have any franchise tag situations because they reward players with contract extensions before they can hit free agency. Atlanta should be able to re-sign quite a few of these players before free agency begins.