The team’s Avery Williams replacement has arrived.
The Atlanta Falcons keep plugging away at plugging holes in their roster, this time signing former All-Pro returner Jamal Agnew to a one-year pact. The news comes to us from insider Mike Garafolo, who reports it could be worth up to $2.5 million if Agnew hits incentives we’ll likely learn about later.
Agnew will slot right in to replace Avery Williams, who the team let test free agency and who wound up with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The #Falcons have agreed to terms with former #Jaguars WR/returner Jamal Agnew on a one-year deal worth a max of $2.5 million, source says. Agnew was on the #Steelers’ practice squad last year as he recovered from a broken leg suffered late in 2023. Now fully healthy for Atlanta. pic.twitter.com/jAIyv8fra8
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 20, 2025
It’s a smart signing with some risk. Agnew misses a handful of games every season—he has never appeared in a full 16 or 17 games—but last year was more or less wiped out by a broken leg in 2023. If he’s fully healthy, as Garafolo indicates, he gives the Falcons an established threat as a returner who can fill a small role as a speedy receiving threat.
In 2023, Agnew posted 10.3 yards per punt return, a full yard better than Williams managed a year ago. He’s also averaged over 26 yards per kick return in each of his last two full seasons, a mark that slightly bests Ray-Ray McCloud’s 25.8 in 2024 but falls short of Williams’ 27-plus last year. Basically, he’s a likely upgrade on the diminished version of Williams we saw as a punt returner, and in line with what Williams and McCloud offered as kick returners. Assuming good health, that’s a necessary piece of the special teams puzzle for Atlanta.
As a receiver, he has 77 career catches for 746 yards and five touchdowns, including 14 grabs for 225 yards and a score for Jacksonville in 2023. If he can return to his typically high end form as a returner and chip in as WR 5/6 and handle a couple of carries as a gadget player, he’ll offer value for the Falcons, and I don’t think that’s an unreasonable expectation. Just don’t expect to see him in all 17 games.
Give Agnew a warm welcome to Atlanta, if you would.