ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons traded away their longtime franchise quarterback Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday and while it wasn’t necessarily a surprising move for the Falcons given the recent chatter about potentially dealing Ryan, the details of the deal itself has some wondering if the Falcons botched the trade.
The Falcons got only a singular third round pick from the Colts in the trade and it was the worse of the two third round picks Indianapolis had available this upcoming draft.
Locked On Falcons podcast host Aaron Freeman joined Locked On national anchor Kainani Stevens on Monday night to discuss the trade and how Atlanta is going to move forward.
“We've been knowing for a while that the end was coming,” Freeman said. “We've known since probably this weekend after the Falcons’ failed pursuit of Deshaun Watson, that the end was nigh and coming in a matter of days…Him being sent to Indianapolis was not a surprise, but the fairly paltry return that the Falcons got for Matt Ryan in a third round pick and the second of the two third round picks of the Colts had seemed a little disappointing.”
When you compare it to the deal the Detroit Lions got last offseason from the Rams for their franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford in the form of a 2021 third, a 2022 first and a 2023 first, it looks rather meager.
Even the Colts’ deal with Washington for Carson Wentz just weeks ago, when the Commanders swapped 2022 seconds with them and sent a 2022 third and a second/third in 2023 based on performance, looks a lot better for them than what the Falcons got for Ryan.
“To see one of the team's pillars of the franchise for a decade plus to basically be you know, dumped for pennies on the dollar was a little disappointing in my eyes and certainly a bitter taste in the mouth,” Freeman said.
In a corresponding move, the Falcons signed free agent quarterback Marcus Mariota to likely lead the team in 2022. Freeman said it’s likely a bridge move before the Falcons find their next QB of the future.
“I think bridge is a perfect way of terming it,” Freeman said. “I think right now the plan is at some point in the very near future, potentially the 2022 draft, possibly in the 2023 draft, the Falcons will try to find their quarterback of the future, their franchise quarterback, to succeed Matt Ryan long term."
"Marcus Mariota is the guy that can start games for them this season until they find that player or until that player is ready to start. He's experienced in Arthur Smith's offense from their days in Tennessee with the Titans, and so he's familiar with the scheme….but unless Marcus Mariota is significantly better than where he was when he left off in Tennessee, he's probably not the long term solution.”
Freeman said the move to rebuild comes kind of a year late for Atlanta. There was some consideration that they could tear it all down last year when the Falcons held the fourth overall pick and had a new regime coming in with a new head coach and a new GM.
“Last year they chose to reload, and seemingly passed on the opportunity to take a young talented quarterback at the time at the top of the 2021 draft, including a homegrown kid in Justin Fields who ultimately went to the Chicago Bears,” Freeman said. “It seemed if you had drafted him and then traded Matt Ryan this offseason, you hopefully would’ve gotten more than a third round pick on that return. And you could say, we’re in a rebuild, but we have our quarterback of the future. That’s what we’re seeing the Bears do with Fields as we speak.”
Freeman also spoke about what kind of player the Colts are getting in Matt Ryan, versus what they had in Carson Wentz last season.
“The Colts are going to get a really good player, and he’s certainly an upgrade of what they had a year ago in Carson Wentz. He’s going to be much more secure with the football, he’s not going to be as big of a gambler as Wentz,” Freeman said. “There’s some pros and cons with that but I think Matt Ryan’s proven throughout his career that if he has weapons around him, players he can distribute the ball to, he can be a highly effective quarterback.”
Freeman said Ryan’s legacy in Atlanta will be one of stability, and that Falcons fans should be able to appreciate what they had in him.
“He came into Atlanta in 2008 shortly after the Michael Vick fiasco with dogfighting and the disastrous hire of Bobby Petrino and quitting on the team halfway though the season, so they needed that stability that Matt Ryan was able to provide…When you look at the legacy of Matt Ryan, it’s a golden age of Falcons football,” Freeman said.