Matt Ryan Trade: Right Move for Falcons

It was a difficult decision, but also the correct one.

Author:
Jeremy Brener
Publish date:
Mar 21, 2022 2:48 PM EDT

The Atlanta Falcons pulled the trigger on arguably the biggest trade in franchise history Monday when they sent 14-year veteran Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts.

Matt Ryan

Despite the verbal commitments from head coach Arthur Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot earlier in the offseason to Ryan being their quarterback in 2022 and perhaps beyond, the Falcons opted to go in a different direction.

The Deshaun Watson sweepstakes forced the Falcons to realize that Ryan wasn't the best option to lead the team back into contention. And though the team failed to strike a deal for Watson, it is doubling down on the idea that Ryan isn't the answer any more.

The issue with trading Ryan is that the Falcons might not have an upgrade immediately available.

This will certainly soon change - perhaps Marcus Mariota is headed to Atlanta from the Raiders - but in the wake of the Ryan trade the only quarterback on the Falcons' roster is Feleipe Franks. He threw one pass during his rookie season in 2021, and it was intercepted.

There are a number of avenues the Falcons could go in to replace Ryan. They could call the Cleveland Browns to listen to a Baker Mayfield offer or the San Francisco 49ers for a Jimmy Garoppolo deal. There's also a world where the team signs the veteran Mariota to a short-term deal and reunite him with Smith, who coached him in Tennessee.

The Falcons could also wait until next month's draft where they could be in position to take any quarterback they wish on the board like Kenny Pickett or Malik Willis.

Matt Ryan

While trading Ryan leaves the Falcons temporarily direction-less, this gives Fontenot and the front office a full opportunity to start from scratch and build from the ground up.

The team has now gone four years without making the playoffs, and finished last season 7-10 put it in the worst place to be in the NFL: mediocre purgatory.

Trading Ryan from a team with very little to build off could possibly plummet Atlanta among the league's worst rather than forward into playoff contention. But now the Falcons have a chance to really start from scratch, which is the only way to build a winner in the NFL.