It looks like a real possibility that this NFL team could part ways this offseason with a former Clemson standout and longtime pro.

Grady Jarrett has been the heart and soul of the Atlanta Falcons’ defense for years, but there’s a chance the veteran defensive tackle won’t be back with the Falcons next season.

Jarrett was recently named as a Falcons cut candidate by both NFL.com and Pro Football Focus.

The Falcons are in a bad cap situation, and they could save more than $16 million against this year’s cap by releasing Jarrett, who turns 32 this spring.

Here’s what Pro Football Focus’s Bradley Locker and NFL.com’s Matt Okada had to say about the possibility of Jarrett being cut by the Falcons this offseason:

Locker: “Jarrett has long been a staple on Atlanta’s defense, but his on-field production isn’t matching his star power anymore. Last year, Jarrett’s 60.6 PFF pass-rushing grade was a career low, and his 61.5 PFF run-defense grade was also below average. The offseason priority for Atlanta will be bolstering its defense, particularly its defensive line. Cutting the soon-to-be 32-year-old Jarrett would free up $16.25 million and allow for a natural takeover of the reins.”

Okada: “At this moment, it looks as if the Falcons will be in bad cap shape, projected to sit $11.1 million in the red, and they’ll need to make quite a few moves to bring that figure back in line. One possibility: releasing one of these two starting defensive linemen. The two had relatively similar production in 2024, though Grady Jarrett held the edge over David Onyemata in most categories. Then again, Jarrett’s release would buy more than $16 million in cap savings, while releasing Onyemata would net just $8.1 million in savings — and saddle Atlanta with $8.9 million in dead money. Whether to cut Jarrett or Onyemata will come down to a question of value and expectation for the Falcons, but at least one is likely to be gone this spring.”

After suffering a season-ending torn ACL in 2023, Jarrett returned to play in all 17 games for the Falcons this past season, posting 53 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

It would certainly be a tough business decision for the Falcons to cut ties with Jarrett, who has spent his entire career in Atlanta after being selected by the organization in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

A longtime face and leader of the Falcons franchise, Jarrett has amassed 496 tackles, 77 tackles for loss and 36.5 sacks across his 10 NFL seasons. The two-time Pro Bowler helped the Falcons to a Super Bowl appearance in the 2016 season.

Before entering the NFL, Jarrett was a lightly regarded recruit who grew into Clemson’s top interior defensive lineman as well as one of the team’s best leaders and strongest players in 2014, when he was a first-team All-ACC selection. He recorded 207 tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks over 48 games in his career as a Tiger from 2011-14.