Falcons Fielding Calls For Matt Ryan; Will He Stay Or Go?

The Atlanta Falcons have a decision to make as the deadline approaches to give Ryan his roster bonus.

Even after Deshaun Watson has been taken out of the equation, the future of Matt Ryan in Atlanta is up in the air.

NFL Network reported Monday morning that the Falcons are taking calls on trades involving their long-time quarterback. Atlanta has until 4 p.m. Monday to make a decision on Ryan before they owe him a $7.5 million roster bonus.

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Ryan was initially owed this roster bonus on Friday but both sides agreed to move the deadline to Monday. This is when Atlanta was still in on the Watson sweepstakes and it gave both sides time to work out some potential trades. Now, the Falcons could still be looking to move the former MVP quarterback.

At this point, the Falcons have two options. They can trade Ryan and take on $40.5 million in dead cap or they can bring Ryan back for the duration of his contract. Atlanta could also add a sweetener to Ryan’s deal since he was cooperative in the team’s pursuit of another player under center. What could this be? Who knows but Ryan already comes with a $48.6 million cap hit for the 2022 season.

The dead-money cap hit is something that the Falcons would need to be concerned with. Feleipe Franks is the other quarterback on the roster and acquiring one in a trade would require another contract. Names like Baker Mayfield or Jimmy Garoppolo would be looking for new deals once they are traded. As for Ryan, there could be some interested teams.

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The Indianapolis Colts have emerged as one of the suitors for Ryan on Monday. The Colts recently moved Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders and are looking to add a veteran under center. The Seattle Seahawks are also a team that would prefer an experienced signal caller.

It is unknown what the Falcons are going to do at this point but we do know that they are at least fielding some calls. All questions will be answered by 4 p.m. this afternoon.