The Atlanta Falcons haven't made the playoffs since the 2017 season. That season ended with a loss to the Nick Foles-led Eagles that would eventually go on to beat the Patriots in an all-time Super Bowl upset. The Falcons haven't had a winning season in the years since and continue to find ways to get in their own way. No recent decisions serve as a greater example of this than their decision-making at the quarterback position.
It all started with the team's ill-fated decision to chase Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. Despite all the disturbing off-the-field allegations Atlanta was willing to push Matt Ryan out in favor of a future with Watson. This served as the catalyst for the Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith-led era. The best player in franchise history was pushed out in favor of the team's want to add Watson or get younger at the position.
Atlanta is still working to recover from the team's decision to push a franchise legend out the backdoor
Matt Ryan's final season with the Falcons was the worst of his Atlanta career. However, the team continually allowed the quarterback to take no punishment a veteran quarterback should endure and offered little run game and few reliable targets. Ryan was set up for failure in his first season under the new regime and pushed out as soon as the team had the opportunity.
This decision set into motion the signing of Marcus Mariota and the decision to waste an entire season on Desmond Ridder. These two decisions would leave the Falcons so desperate to find a capable quarterback they would draft Michael Penix Jr. and sign Kirk Cousins in the same offseason.
Decisions that could have all been prevented if the Falcons had managed their team correctly. There isn't a world in which an aging Matt Ryan doesn't give you a far better chance to win than Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder. Allowing the veteran to play out his contract and fully rebuild was the right decision. It would have given the Falcons a chance to bring in a young quarterback for Ryan to mentor.
If this wasn't the case they could have at least given the veteran a chance for a proper farewell tour. Instead, they opted to chase Watson and jettison Ryan with very little plan or thought behind it. This is the decision still haunting the franchise that has cost them three seasons of misery and has left them overpaying Kirk Cousins.
Even with the emergence of Michael Penix Jr. it is hard to trust the franchise will make the most of the talented young quarterback. Atlanta continually has gotten in their own way and no position better explains their frustrating incompetence than the quarterback management over the last four seasons.