Falcons will not re-sign receiver, returner Justin Hardy

Falcons are moving on from Hardy

The Falcons need cap. It looks like they will look to cut a few pieces off the edges of their roster to get it. Wide receiver and special teams’ ace Justin Hardy won’t be resigned by the team according to Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Special teams maven Justin Hardy will not re-sign with #Falcons https://t.co/EFkiaw1N2z

— D. Orlando Ledbetter (@DOrlandoAJC) March 16, 2020

The Falcons have cut veterans Desmond Trufant, Devonta Freeman and Ty Sambrailo over the last few hours, freeing up a little bit of cap space.

It was expected that there would be some decisions made on players that have been key contributors over the past few season with only $1,717,362 in space coming into Monday morning.

Hardy was a fourth round selection, 107th pick overall in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Falcons out of East Carolina University where he was a former walk on.

Hardy broke the NCAA record for career receptions as he passed Oklahoma’s Ryan Broyles in his senior season. He finished his career with 387 receptions, 4,541 yards and 35 touchdowns in his college career.

Since joining the Falcons, Hardy has played a litany of roles for in his five seasons in Atlanta. Hardy has caught 73 passes for 946 yards and nine touchdowns.

Last season he snagged 19 passes for 195 yards. In 2018 he was one of the team’s few that handled the punt-returning duties. Hardy logged 20 punt returns for 147 yards in 2019.

Hardy was mostly the Falcons’ third and fourth option in 2019 after being passed on the depth chart by Russell Gage and Calvin Ridley over the last two seasons.