NFL Team Releasing Veteran Clemson Pro
By: Gavin Oliver March 10, 2025

This NFL team is parting ways with a former Clemson standout and veteran team captain.

The Atlanta Falcons are releasing defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, per multiple reports on Monday.

Jarrett has been the heart and soul of Atlanta’s defense for years, but the Falcons are in a bad cap situation and they will save more than $16 million against this year’s cap by releasing Jarrett, who turns 32 this spring.

It’s a tough business decision to cut ties with Jarrett, who will now enter the free agent market for the first time. He has spent his entire career to date in Atlanta after being selected by the organization in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

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.

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, and he was Atlanta’s nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award in both 2019 and 2024.

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.