Falcon Report

Falcons Sign Former All-Pro, Pro Bowl Return Specialist

The Atlanta Falcons agreed to a one-year contract with former Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers returner and receiver Jamal Agnew.

Daniel Flick

The Atlanta Falcons signed former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver and return specialist Jamal Agnew.
The Atlanta Falcons signed former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver and return specialist Jamal Agnew. / Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The Atlanta Falcons' free agency focus on bolstering their special teams unit continued Thursday.

Atlanta agreed to terms with receiver and return specialist Jamal Agnew on a one-year contract worth up to $2.5 million, according to NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo.

The Falcons lost their lead returner, Avery Williams, to the Philadelphia Eagles earlier in free agency.

Agnew, who turns 30 years old on April 3, entered the NFL in 2017 as a fifth-round pick by the Detroit Lions. He spent the first four years of his career in Detroit -- the last two of which coincided with now-Falcons special teams coordinator Marquice Williams' two-year stint as the Lions' assistant special teams coach.

The 5'10", 190-pound Agnew started his career as a defensive back and return specialist who doubled as a receiver.

He was a first-team All-Pro specialist as a rookie in 2017 after returning 29 punts for 447 yards and two touchdowns, averaging a league-leading 15.4 yards per return. He also made 10 tackles and returned 11 kickoffs for 196 yards.

Agnew played in only six games in 2018 due to a knee injury. He returned 12 punts for 57 yards and eight kicks for 216 yards.

Williams arrived in 2019, and Agnew enjoyed a successful campaign. Agnew returned another punt for a touchdown while logging his first kick return score, and he averaged 9.2 yards per punt return and 26.7 yards per kick return.

In 2020, Agnew began emerging as an offensive piece. He caught 13 passes for 89 yards while adding six rushes for 33 yards. The San Diego native returned one punt for a touchdown and averaged a career-best 28 yards per kickoff return.

Williams joined the Falcons during the spring of 2021, while Agnew signed a three-year, $14.25 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, thus ending their time together.

Agnew left a good impression on Williams, who spoke glowingly of the former University of San Diego standout before the Falcons faced the Jaguars during the 2023 season.

"Overall, he’s just a good human being, a good man," Williams said. 'You can see why guys like to block hard and play hard for him when they're on the field with him. He’s a dual returner, he has dynamic speed to where he can get to the edge.

"He’s fearless where he’ll get vertical with the football whether he’s taking the ball out from eight or nine [yards] deep as a kickoff returner or in some situations as a punt returner. He’s one of the better, if not the best, dual returners in the league."

Agnew had a solid three-year run with the Jaguars, headlined by a Pro Bowl nod in 2022. Across 36 games, he returned 50 punts for 423 yards -- an average of 8.5 yards per return -- and 58 kickoffs for 1,463 yards, averaging 25.2 yards per return.

Offensively, Agnew made 61 receptions for 641 yards and five touchdowns while adding 23 rushes for 195 yards and one score on the ground.

Agnew suffered a lower leg fracture in Week 17 of the 2023 season and subsequently missed all of 2024 as a result. He spent the second half of the year on the Pittsburgh Steelers' practice squad.

Now healthy, Agnew joins the Falcons with six offensive touchdowns, four punt return scores, two kickoff touchdowns and a field goal return score to his name -- in addition to a good relationship with Williams.

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Daniel Flick
DANIEL FLICK

Daniel Flick is an accredited NFL writer for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Daniel has provided boots-on-ground coverage at the NFL Combine and from the Atlanta Falcons' headquarters, among other destinations, and contributed to the annual Lindy's Sports Magazine ahead of the 2023 offseason. Daniel is a co-host on the 404TheFalcon podcast and previously wrote for the Around the Block Network and Georgia Sports Hospitality Media.

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