Despite some talk that Falcons defensive end Osi Umenyiora could be in danger of getting cut unless he takes a pay cut, it appears that he will play out his contract in 2014.
Falcons G.M. Thomas Dimitroff told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that Umenyiora will return, and no restructuring of his contract is planned.
The 32-year-old Umenyiora had 7.5 sacks and started 13 games for the Falcons last season, and he played well enough that his cap number of $4.75 million is reasonable. As PFT reported early this month, the Falcons weren’t looking to cut Umenyiora’s pay. Although it’s possible that they had concluded he wasn’t quite playing up to his contract, they also think enough of Umenyiora that they didn’t want to squeeze him into a pay cut that could have caused him to become disgruntled.
Falcons defensive end Kroy Biermann, who played just two games last year before suffering a torn Achilles tendon, is also expected back without a move to reduce his cap number of $5.08 million.