Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan is here to stay so get over it

Let’s get one thing clear Atlanta Falcons fans: Matt Ryan isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. And he shouldn’t be.

There has been a weird rumor mill brewing that the Atlanta Falcons would trade their franchise quarterback to the Texans. Or that the Falcons are looking to move up in the draft to select a signal-caller. But why would they?

Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff are on the hot seat. They are in win-now mode, and if they aren’t yet, we have a problem. In fact, they should be in a win last year’s mode. Those two have no time to waste, no margin for error, no space to make a silly, experimental trade or move.

Every decision they make has to be dedicated toward making and advancing deep into the playoffs this season — whether it starts on time or not. It’s why they dropped so much on Todd Gurley and Dante Fowler. And the last of the Falcons problems has been Matt Ryan. Especially when they have an entire secondary to fill out.

No, he is not Michael Vick, nor will he ever be. He’s not going to wow you with his athleticism, he isn’t going to make defenders look foolish in the open field, and no, he doesn’t have the cannon that Patrick Mahomes has. But that’s fine. The Falcons don’t need him to do that.

They need a passionate, locker room leader, who can lead his team on the field each week and put them in a position to win. Matt Ryan is that guy. He has talent surrounding him in the NFL’s best Julio Jones, in the young stud that is Calvin Ridley, in the newly signed Todd Gurley.  The time to move on from Matty Ice will come but now is not that time.

With an aging Drew Brees and Tom Brady in the division, Ryan is right where he belongs. Two guys who have won just a bit more than him should be the motivation he needs to keep his game at a top-tier level for at least a few more seasons.

He’s thrown more than 20 touchdowns every year since his rookie season, has thrown for more than 4,000 yards in nine straight seasons, and has an MVP to his name. Yes, the Atlanta Falcons need to have an eye to the future. Drafting a young guy in the later rounds, after all, other needs are addressed, to sit behind Ryan for a few years isn’t a bad idea.

But trading up for a quarterback or outright trading Ryan would spell the end of Quinn and Dimitroff’s time in Atlanta without a doubt. So when it comes to moving on from Matt Ryan, let’s take a note from Jay-Z on this one: “let’s end the speculation, I’m talking to all of y’all.”