Falcons open contract talks with Matt Bryant

January 6, 2018 Los Angeles: Falcons Matt Bryant makes his first of two field goals after the Falcons recovered a Rams turnover on a kick off during the first quarter in their NFL Wild Card Game on Saturday, January 6, 2018, in Los Angeles.    Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

January 6, 2018 Los Angeles: Falcons Matt Bryant makes his first of two field goals after the Falcons recovered a Rams turnover on a kick off during the first quarter in their NFL Wild Card Game on Saturday, January 6, 2018, in Los Angeles. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

The Falcons have opened contact discussions with kicker Matt Bryant, who could become an unrestricted free agent on March 14.

“We have talked and more talks are scheduled,” Bryant’s agent Jordan Woy wrote in an e-mail to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday. “Nothing yet, but both sides are working on it.”

Bryant, who will turn 43 on May 29, became the franchise’s all-time scoring leader when he scored in 806th point in 2016, surpassing Morten Andersen. Bryant is known as one of the top kickers in the NFL.

Bryant scored his 1,000th point with the franchise last season on a game-winning 52-yard field goal to beat the Saints in December. In 2017, Bryant was a perfect 38-for-38 on extra points and 39-of-44 on field goals, including going 10-of-11 on field goal attempts over 50 yards.

Bryant showed no signs of slowing down. He was the Falcons key offensive weapon last season, the reason they reached the playoffs with a regular-season win over the Panthers and won a playoff game on the road against the Rams. He made nine field goals in the two games.

Bryant was the 11th-highest paid kicker in the league last season at $1.45 million. The Panthers’ Graham Gano and the Cowboys’ Dan Bailey were the top-paid kickers at $3.2 million last season.

The Titans signed Ryan Succop, 31, to a five-year, $20 million deal on Tuesday. He received $7.5 million guaranteed.

The Colts are working on a new one-year deal for Adam Vinatieri, according to multiple reports.

Vinatieri, who will be 46, is No. 2 all-time in points (2,487) and field goals (559). He needs 58 points to surpass Hall of Famer Andersen (2,544) as the game’s all-time leading scorer.