Falcons announce they will not re-sign Vic Beasley

Atlanta Falcons won't pursue new contract with defensive end Vic Beasley

The Atlanta Falcons have decided to move on from defensive end Vic Beasley. They announced today that they would not be pursuing a new contract with the former Clemson star.

BREAKING NEWS: We will not pursue negotiations with Vic Beasley this offseason. https://t.co/AWbxv1SiGi

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) February 3, 2020

Thomas Dimitroff spoke on the subject Monday:

As we continue to craft our 2020 roster, we'd like to thank Vic for five years of effort on behalf of our organization.

Beasley's tenure in Atlanta was a rollercoaster. There were good spots and bad spots. The Falcons made Beasley the eighth overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft. The Falcons had just hired Seattle Seahawks’ defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and hoped Quinn could utilize Beasley’s electric speed of the edge as he had rushers like Bruce Irvin, a player Beasley had been compared to throughout the process, in Seattle.

Beasley’s rookie year came with a learning curve as he produced four sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception. His second season was thought to be his breakout season, but would ultimately be his best in Atlanta. Beasley racked up 15.5 sacks, which led the NFL and helped propel the Falcons to Super Bowl LI.

Beasley put together 28 sacks across his last three seasons in Atlanta, with eight of them coming in 2019. Despite the decent sack total, Beasley ranked 75th in the NFL in total pressures. He finished his Falcons tenure with 37.5 sacks and 36 tackles for loss in 60 games.

The financially strapped Falcons likely could not have pursued a pricy extension for the defensive end even if they felt he had earned one. The organization has some work to do to say the least on the cap space front. The Falcons could explore options at the position in free agency and/or the draft in April as fellow defensive ends Adrian Clayborn and Jack Crawford are also free agents.