Atlanta Falcons Roster Rumors: Defensive Tackle Paul Soliai Won't Be Retained for Next Season
The Atlanta Falcons are expected to release defensive lineman Paul Soliai after the failed negotiations between the two parties on restructuring his contract in the hope of lowering the original $5 million salary the team owes him for next season.
Soliai came to Atlanta in a lucrative free agent deal back in 2014, where he signed a $32 million, five-year contract. However, last season was a clear indication that the defensive lineman wasn't really the ideal fit for the kind of defensive scheme head coach Dan Quinn has been implementing. Because Quinn decided to use the penetrating 4-3 front last year, Soliai's role in the defensive end eventually diminished.
Provided the Falcons will move on to cutting him, they'll have the advantage of saving about $5.4 million on the team's salary cap for the upcoming season. This is under the condition that they will be able to designate him as a post June 1 cut.
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The move has been an expected one along the way, especially after Quinn pledged to use the same system he started last season. While the Falcons try to reconfigure the defense this offseason, Soliai will have to be busy looking for a new team that still will appreciate his talent as a 3-4 nose tackle, which by the way is very infrequent in the league. The only issue is that the 32-year-old is no longer as effective as he was a couple of years ago. To be fair, though, the decline in his production is primarily attributed to the system used in Atlanta. It is still unclear if he'll be able to redeem himself once he signs with another team.
Before signing the lucrative five-year contract with the Falcons back in March 2014, Soliai played his first seven seasons in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins, where he was drafted because of his unique combination of huge size and athleticism.
