Broncos 'Should Propose' Drew Lock in Trade for Falcons QB Matt Ryan, Says Analyst

The deal would include two first-round picks ...

As it becomes apparent the Denver Broncos are leaning toward crowning Teddy Bridgewater their starting quarterback, NFL media vultures are buzzing around his (vanquished?) competition, Drew Lock, now fodder for far-reaching trade fantasies.

Such as this, below, from Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon, who believes Denver "should propose" Lock and two first-round draft picks to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for QB Matt Ryan before the start of the 2021 regular season.

Yes, really.

"I know the Atlanta Falcons almost certainly won't trade Ryan at this point, and doing so doesn't save them much money anyway, but it's time to move on and start from scratch," Gagnon writes, contradicting his point.

"The Broncos are in a much better position to win right now based on their defense and offensive supporting cast, so they might lose patience with Lock and Teddy Bridgewater and bite on the 36-year-old Ryan.

"Meanwhile, if that bite were to come, the Falcons would walk away with a huge increase in draft capital and a young, talented wild card at quarterback during the first stage of a rebuild that shouldn't scare them. Rebuilds can take just a year or two in this day and age, and it'll be a lot easier to turn this thing around when they've moved on from Ryan just as they did with Julio Jones."

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Gagnon is partly correct: shipping Ryan elsewhere would create just $2 million in salary-cap space this season. But — and here's the fact that matters — doing so also would trigger a whopping $24,912,500 dead-money hit. Atlanta currently has about $7.7 million of available cap room, so that's a no-go.

He's wrong, however, in assuming the Broncos could "lose patience" with Bridgewater, as naming him the starter over the higher-upside Lock actually signals an abundance of patience. And there's zero indication that will change between now and Sept. 12.

Nor zero reason for Denver to pursue a financially detrimental 36-year-old entering the twilight of his career at the cost of general manager George Paton's most coveted capital ... and Lock.

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