3 Reasons the Atlanta Falcons won’t stick with Desmond Ridder this off-season

1. How Matt Ryan’s tenure ended

In retrospect, it appears the Falcons jumped off of veteran Matt Ryan at the perfect time despite the heavy dead cap hit they were forced to pay. Waiting a season would have made sense but Smith and Fontenot were impatient to put their own stamp on the team.

So impatient they made the awful decision to alienate Ryan when they chased Deshaun Watson this past off-season and lost. It seemed as if the Falcons were going to land Watson until the Browns gave the quarterback guarantees the Falcons couldn’t match. The whole situation with Watson felt gross with the off-the-field allegations seemingly leaving Atlanta unconcerned and completely focused on landing a top quarterback even with Matt Ryan on the roster.

Perhaps Fontenot and Smith learned from their mistake and are focused on building around Ridder moving forward. However, their willingness to swing big and attempt to land Watson even with the alarming situation surrounding the quarterback speaks to this team looking to find a star quarterback with very little concern with who they land or how it happens.

The Falcons were still a year away from competing even if they had landed the quarterback from Houston now that they are looking to make a push to contend it is hard to think they won’t attempt to make a splash at the most important position on the field even if yet again it is a clear mistake.