These Atlanta Falcons will be on the trade block in early 2021
The Atlanta Falcons have some major moves to make this 2021 offseason if they want become legitimate contenders once again.
The first move for the Atlanta Falcons will be getting their GM and Head Coach in place and then we’ll begin to find out the direction of the franchise moving forward.
The truth of the matter of simple: The Falcons either have to go into total rebuild mode and look to deal away many of their top contract pieces in favor of younger prospects found in the NFL Draft or they have to go ‘all in’ on the current roster and hope to make a few more moves in the draft to solidify this team as a contender again.
As a result, we could see the Falcons become one of the biggest names in NFL trade rumors as the 2021 offseason gets underway in just a couple of months.
Here’s a look at three players who the Atlanta Falcons may at least place on the trade block just to see what value they could get in return.
3. Dante Fowler Jr.
Dante Fowler Jr. has totaled just 21 tackles and two sacks in 550 snaps this season. The Falcons signed him to a three-year deal worth $45 million and he certainly hasn’t lived up to those expectations as of yet.
According to Spotrac, Fowler Jr. will have a $15.3 million hit to the dead cap in 2021 and that might be enough reason to move on from him right there.
Though there aren’t going to be many contenders looking to give up any draft capital on a player that hasn’t proven himself and would be a decent hit to their cap space, the Falcons still could find a team with a lot of cap space basically for cash considerations or potentially a late-round pick.
Fowler Jr. is a former No. 3 overall pick and that still provides some clout in trade negotiations, but make no mistake about it: The Falcons would be getting rid of him to free up cap space, not because they’d be expecting a big haul in return.
2. Julio Jones
We haven’t even officially ended the 2020 season yet and there are already rumors about how the Atlanta Falcons could look to deal Julio Jones this offseason.
If the Falcons decide to go the ‘rebuild route,’ it doesn’t make much sense to keep Jones around. They’ve got a couple of young pieces at wide receiver and they’ll likely be wanting as much draft capital as possible.
Even with the injuries he has battled this season, Jones would be a name that would draw the attention of many contenders looking to add an elite wide receiver, but you do have to keep in mind that his cap hit in 2021 will be more than $23 million.
Of course, the Falcons could offer to pay some of that in exchange for draft picks- both current and future picks- and that could set them up for a nice rebuild in return.
1. Matt Ryan
Arthur Blank has made no commitment to Matt Ryan following this season and there are many out there who believe the Falcons could look to deal their 35-year old quarterback before it’s all said and done.
Could a team that’s looking for a seasoned quarterback to take them to the next level- perhaps the New England Patriots- be interested?
Ryan would certainly be worth some draft capital if you found the right situation and it would free the Falcons up to make some free-agency moves that could build around their new quarterback, who they’d obviously take in the draft and have on a rookie contract for the next few seasons.
While it sounds farfetched on the surface, it’s not quite as unrealistic as it seems when you begin looking at the potential flexibility for the future.