Stop it, the Falcons aren’t trading Matt Ryan

One of the most ridiculous draft rumors of 2020 is that the Atlanta Falcons will look to draft the next Atlanta Falcons quarterback for when Matt Ryan leaves.

Atlanta Falcons fans should be lucky to have a quarterback like Matt Ryan. However, due to ignorance and lack of football intelligence, Matt Ryan has a large number of haters amongst his own fan base. A majority of these fans want to replace Matt Ryan with free-agent quarterback Cam Newton or draft another mobile quarterback like Jalen Hurts or Justin Fields in 2021.

None of those options make any sense. NFL fans, in general, are stuck in 2015 and still believe that Newton is a reliable dual-threat quarterback. He is only reliable for missed throws and hospital trips. There’s a reason why he’s still a free agent, and it’s not because of COVID-19.

For starters, the Atlanta Falcons cannot trade or cut Ryan as his contract does not allow for this to happen due to the vast cap hit the team would be forced to take. Since Matt Ryan has already seen his major money contract, he is very likely to take multiple team-friendly contracts in the future to allow for more pieces to be built around him in Atlanta.

The rumor first started when Ian Rapoport appeared on a podcast and mentioned the fact that Thomas Dimitroff was so interested in quarterbacks this draft, that he might trade up and take one off the board. In a season where both the general manager and head coach are hanging by a lifeline, trading up – at any point in the draft – for a quarterback is simply not smart.

If you want any real Matt Ryan replacement rumors, then you may have just shy of a decade to go – barring any major injuries or a surprise retirement. Ryan will be 35 by the time this season comes around and he is still one of the league’s most elite quarterbacks, no matter what Atlanta fans have to say. So by wasting high draft capital on a quarterback, the Falcons would be putting themselves in a Jimmy Garoppolo situation where he just sits for a couple of seasons and is just traded away.

You also run the risk of angering Ryan by drafting his replacement right now. By taking a quarterback, you’re signaling to the greatest quarterback in Atlanta Falcons history that his time is up. In this day in age where quarterbacks are playing at a high level into their 40’s. What benefit comes from risking one of the best ever for someone who is entirely unknown?

Sure, if the team wants to wait for the later rounds to get a backup quarterback then that’s acceptable, but not waste any draft capital in pursuit of one. Even in this scenario, whichever quarterback is drafted late in the draft, they’re not being drafted to replace Matt Ryan, their sole purpose would be to compete with Kurt Benkert for the future backup role and eventually traded away.

Fans need to get over that Matt Ryan is not a running quarterback and is still one of the league’s elite by being a pocket quarterback. Sure, Ryan runs when he needs to – and is very effective at that – but he’s is a pure pocket passer and that style of play is very much alive still.

Let’s also put to bed the “rumor”, that in actuality is just a horrible opinion piece, that Matt Ryan will be traded to Houston for Deshaun Watson.

Stop it. Matt Ryan isn’t going anywhere.