The Atlanta Falcons should trade Matt Ryan

As an Atlanta Falcons fan, you learn very quickly that three things are certain in life – death, taxes and for the Falcons to break your heart year after year.

With the Atlanta Falcons starting 1-4, it has become routine to hang on every week and say “this is the week we turn it around” or “this week we will see the team that we know they are”. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, even when the Falcons beat the Cardinals on Sunday, this team still will not be the team we thought they would be.

Matt Ryan has poured everything he has had into this franchise for the last 12 years. He has played injured, he has played hurt, and he has led the Falcons on the field for all but two games in his entire career.

The Falcons cannot say the same to Matt Ryan. Sure, they went out and drafted Julio Jones, but that is it. The Falcons have never done anything else to help Matt Ryan help them. Despite all of that, Matt Ryan is more than 25 games over .500 as a starting quarterback and has led this team to more winning seasons then they had in the 40 plus years before him.

Matt Ryan has led the Falcons to two NFC championship games and Super Bowl. Matt Ryan built multi-touchdown leads in all three of those games. Matt Ryan’s coaches and teammates let him down in two of those games.

Matt Ryan deserves better than what the Atlanta Falcons have given him in his 12 years wearing the black and red and now he deserves to be traded to a franchise that can provide him stability. Name another franchise that would go out and hire a former college head coach, with a checkered past that had less than one year of NFL experience, to call plays coming off of a Super Bowl berth.

You can’t, because only the Falcons were dumb enough to do it.

What do Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers have that Matt Ryan does not? Stability within the franchise. Even when the Patriots, Packers (prior to the hiring of Matt LaFleur), and Saints had to change coordinators, they promoted from within so that the offense was able to keep the same cohesiveness and familiarity.

Every time the Falcons have sought a new offensive coordinator, they have made Matt learn a new coaching staff and system, yet, he has been able to lead this franchise to heights it never achieved previously.

It is clear that Matt Ryan deserves better.

When you see franchise players wearing different uniforms, it is anything but normal. Joe Montana put on a Chiefs jersey, Brett Favre wearing a Vikings uniform and Peyton Manning donning Broncos colors.

Unlike those three guys, Matt Ryan is still in his prime and still has an elite skill set that can help another team win a Super Bowl. That Super Bowl title is the only piece missing on Matt Ryan’s resume and he deserves to lead a franchise that will protect him and appreciate him to one. It is clear that Atlanta doesn’t appreciate what Matt brings to the table and it’s time to send him somewhere else so that he can achieve the ultimate greatness.