Deshaun Watson Trade to Atlanta Falcons? What's It Mean For Matt Ryan?

The Atlanta Falcons have reportedly joined the race for Deshaun Watson.

The market for Deshaun Watson is beginning to heat up. 

It was expected that many teams would be interested in his services once criminal charges were dropped but the Atlanta Falcons might not have been one of those teams. Now, Atlanta could be going over all options and that includes acquiring Watson in a trade.

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ESPN reported that the Falcons could be a surprise team in the Watson sweepstakes. It would be an interesting idea for Atlanta to go after a quarterback when looking at the current state of the team. If they do, this brings up the question, what happens to Matt Ryan?

Atlanta restructured Ryan's contract this offseason. The 36-year-old quarterback is a former MVP who led the Falcons to one Super Bowl appearance. Over the last three years, Ryan’s performance has been steadily regressing.

Ryan has not thrown 30 or more touchdowns since 2018. Over that span, he has also thrown double-digit interceptions each year. There were rumors of Atlanta shopping the veteran quarterback but it seemed to be all smoke. Well, if Watson is somehow acquired by the Falcons, the only option would be to trade Ryan.

The quarterback carousel has been busy so far this offseason. Russell Wilson is a Denver Broncos while Carson Wentz was traded to Washington. Aaron Rodgers remains in Green Bay and there could be more coming. This all depends on how the rest of the quarterback-needy teams around the league want to do business.

Matt Ryan at press conference

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Matt Ryan throwing pass against Jacksonville Jaguars

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Matt Ryan waving to crowd

The Colts immediately come to mind after trading Wentz. The Houston Texans are not going to move Watson in division so that takes him off the table. Indianapolis has been adding a veteran quarterback each year so Ryan is an option.

Ryan's market is diminishing each time another team makes a move before a quarterback. Another option is if Ryan is part of the deal for Watson. It would not make sense for a team like the Texans to take on a veteran quarterback. They would likely ask for draft capital along with young players that can help rebuild.

If there is one thing we have learned this offseason, it is that teams are going to be aggressive when pursuing quarterbacks and that anything is possible. If Atlanta shocks the league and acquires Watson, they will have to put together another blockbuster deal to send Ryan away.