Atlanta Falcons made a mistake extending quarterback Matt Ryan

The Atlanta Falcons front office has made their share of head-scratching moves over the last half-decade. Perhaps none more confusing than signing Matt Ryan to an extension that makes it impossible to part ways with the quarterback before the end of next season.

While Atlanta could opt to go the Jared Goff or Carson Wentz route and move on from the veteran regardless of the huge cap hit it would take. This seems unlikely considering the team is already dealing with a massive dead cap hit from moving on from Julio Jones.

This leaves Matt Ryan on a team that cannot support or protect their franchise quarterback. That is the only reason extending Ryan was a mistake. If the Falcons were in win-now mode adding veterans and attempting to compete, extending Ryan is a no-brainer.

The Atlanta Falcons refuse to move on from Matt Ryan or to give him the pieces he needs to succeed

Watching the Falcons bungle the last three years of Matt Ryan’s career has been infuriating for a fanbase who has a quarterback capable of winning in the playoffs. Atlanta has refused to rebuild their roster or to add complementary veterans to attempt to give Ryan a chance.

They seem to be content to sit in neutral neither rebuilding and moving on from Ryan or building around him and attempting to win now.  It is unforgivable to continue to waste Ryan’s career and refuse to be aggressive in free agency or the draft.

While they did add Kyle Pitts this off-season with their first-round pick this gain is offset by the trade that sent Julio Jones packing.  Atlanta decided not to add receiver depth despite this going with a group of Russell Gage, Tajae Sharpe, Christian Blake, and Calvin Ridley.

Ridley is now taking time away from the team due to a personal issue and will be gone for an unknown amount of time.  This leaves the underwhelming trio of Blake, Sharpe, and Gage at Ryan’s disposal.

You will be hard-pressed to find a worse receiver group in the league even the Lions, Jets, and Jaguars have better targets at the position.

This points to the fact that Atlanta continues to waste the back end of Ryan’s career. Why choose to extend your veteran quarterback if you are unwilling to put players around him to win?

Going with this receiver group and refusing to add in free agency or through trades despite having a very winnable schedule points to the problem with Atlanta.

A team seemingly still stuck in its own past, unwilling to part ways with Ryan or its veterans and unwilling to make basic moves that teams looking to contend would make.

Continuing to ask Ryan to captain a ship that sunk three seasons ago is the type of mismanagement Atlanta Falcons fans are tiring of.  It is time for Atlanta to commit to Ryan and attempt to win or to move on from the veteran and give the quarterback a chance to win again.

Atlanta has wasted enough of Ryan’s career, a player that has gone to the playoffs with regularity often in spite of his team. At age thirty-six Ryan has only a handful of seasons left, seasons Atlanta cannot continue to waste.

Extending Ryan only to refuse to rebuild around him or to make win now moves points to the ineptitude of the Atlanta Falcons front office. A front office that must make a decision and stick to it.