The Atlanta Falcons need to do a lot in order for their cap space to be enough to upgrade the roster in free agency.

OvertheCap.com did all the calculating and the Falcons are projected to have around 21 million dollars in cap space after all the restructuring, re-signing, and cutting of the players. This is a rough estimate, and to be frank you shouldn’t be surprised if that number is even lower heading into free agency.

Here’s a few notes on what OvertheCap did in order for the cap number to be at 21 million.

Restructured Julio Jones’ contract. Not guaranteed to happen by any means

Restructed Sam Baker’s contract. Makes sense

Re-signed Matt Bryant

Released Joe Hawley? They don’t make it clear, but the team will gain 3 million in cap space if they do choose to release the veteran.

Released Steven Jackson

21 million dollars isn’t a lot of money. It’s not necessarily a bad spot to be in, but it won’t give Dimitroff the leeway to go ahead and pursue big names whenever he wants. Keep in mind that the team also needs to leave a consiberably large amount of space in order to deal with rookie contracts, and that it is foolish to spend all of your money in cap space during the off-season which would put the team in a terrible spot next year.

Lucky for the Atlanta Falcons, the free agency market is loaded with bargains this time around. Bargains are players that won’t be too expensive and a player that will instantly make a positive impact. Who should the team pursue?