The Facts: The Falcons will tender Gabriel, a restricted free agent, both HC Dan Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff said Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. That was the easy and rather obvious part. Which tender Gabriel gets remains to be seen, and neither would reveal it. "Taylor wants to be here," Quinn said. "That will be a fun view on seeing how he continues to evolve as a player for us."
Diehards Line:
As PFT suggests, it makes sense that Gabriel would be in the Falcons’ plans, and it would make sense that the Falcons would place the second-round tender at an approximate cost of $2.8 million on Gabriel to protect themselves. Because Gabriel is a former undrafted player with the Browns, the Falcons wouldn’t receive any compensation if they placed the lowest tender on Gabriel and he ended up signing with another team. The lowest tender would cost the Falcons around $1.8 million for Gabriel. A first-round tender would be around $4 million. The Falcons claimed Gabriel via waivers last September, and he became a major contributor. He had five touchdowns, four receiving, and caught 35 passes for 579 yards. If Gabriel doesn’t sign a long-term deal and plays 2017 on a one-year tender, he’ll be eligible for unrestricted free agency next year.