Earlier today, Thomas Dimitroff said that Dontari Poe will make it to free agency, meaning there’s approximately a 0% chance he returns to Atlanta. It appears that Taylor Gabriel and Kemal Ishmael will also hit the open market, and that means both may be headed elsewhere.
That’s sort of jarring in a lot of ways. Gabriel was a vital cog in the high-powered 2016 Falcons’ team attack, and while he was much less vital to the offense in 2017, it’s not like he doesn’t have speed and talent. Ishmael, meanwhile, has been a key reserve and special teamer for years now, a role he’ll fill somewhere else as the Falcons likely move on.