“The players that were invested in, should’ve played at their highest level. No matter the level of investment; the performance can not be average and adequate.”
Those were the words of Atlanta Falcons General Manager Thomas Dimitroff during Thursday’s end-of-season press conference. The lowest point of the season was the five game losing streak that came on the heels of a three game winning streak that saw the Falcons with a record of 4-4.
“Of course, we missed the mark this year,” Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said. “We know that. We have, of course, a lot of work to do on a lot of levels, not only on the field but off the field looking at our organization in general at a lot of different levels.”
When the conversation shifted towards Free Agency, Dimitroff said defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, wide receiver Julio Jones and defensive end Vic Beasley are priorities. While Jarrett and Jones appear locks to resign, Beasley’s status with the team going forward is uncertain. While he led the league with 15.5 sacks during the 2016 season, Beasley has had five sacks in 2018, five sacks in 2017 and only four sacks in his rookie year in 2015.
Dimitroff pledged the Falcons will look through the Draft and Free Agency based on the value of the needs at certain positions. In addition, Dimitroff said are players who “didn’t step up” when they believed they did. He admitted players are placed, are his responsibility. When asked about pushing the reset button on this 7-9 season, Dimitroff said all adjustments will be disseminated to their scouting staff.
Currently, the Atlanta Falcons possess the 14th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Free agency begins March 13th. Falcons offseason workouts begin April 13th in Flowery Branch. NFL Draft takes place on April 25-27 in Nashville, Tenn.
