SUNDAY, 10:34am: The Falcons will designate Toilolo as a post-June 1 cut, meaning that they’ll see a cap savings of $3.5MM for this year rather than $2.5MM (Twitter link via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com). Cap space is at a premium for Atlanta, which currently ranks in the bottom third of the league in that regard.
FRIDAY, 1:46pm: The Falcons are releasing tight end Levine Toilolo, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). This comes just one year after Toilolo re-signed on a three-year, $12MM deal one year ago.
Toilolo, 27 in July, has been mostly a complementary piece for Atlanta over the past few seasons. In his contract year, he had 13 catches and two touchdowns, but he stretched the field with 264 yards, good for 20.3 yards per grab. This past season, he had 12 catches for 122 yards and one score.
The Falcons are faced with a bit of a numbers crunch this offseason, which necessitated the release of Toilolo. With Austin Hooper already on board, Toilolo was a luxury they could not afford.
For the second straight year, Toilolo ranked as Pro Football Focus’ No. 27 ranked tight end. He’ll now join a free agent tight end crop that includes Trey Burton, Jimmy Graham, and Austin Seferian-Jenkins.