Did Falcons Trick Colts in Just-in-Time Matt Ryan Trade?

It’s worth pondering whether Atlanta actually won this trade by moving on from a great player just before his great decline.

Mike Fisher | Apr 10, 2022

Conventional wisdom has it that in March, when the Colts agreed to a trade with the Atlanta Falcons that sent veteran quarterback Matt Ryan to Indianapolis, Indy won the deal …

Matt Ryan

And the Falcons were stuck with a salary dump as a favor to good-soldier Ryan.

But what if Falcons GM Terry Fontenot was even more savvy than that, moving on from Ryan because as the QB approaches 37, he’s in decline … and maybe about to fall off a cliff, performance-wise.

Because according to one NFL executive, via Larry Brown Sports, that cliff is obvious.

“I think age has caught Matt Ryan,” the exec said. “I had him with a big decline last year. Matt has had a phenomenal career, a great quarterback, but it wasn’t like he was super big athletic or, had a super strong arm. I see the skills declining a little bit quicker for him as a result. I think they could be looking at another quarterback in a year.”

The Colts have recently viewed themselves as being “ QB away.” Last year they traded for Carson Wentz - and they now call that a “mistake” as he’s moved on to Washington.

This time around? Indy only gives up a third-rounder for Ryan, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft who had been with the Falcons since he entered the league out of Boston College.

He was the NFL MVP for the 2016 season, a year in which he is credited with leading the Falcons to the Super Bowl.

Ryan earned an All-Pro First Team berth during that 2016 campaign and has been a Pro Bowl selection four times during his career.

Malik Willis

The 36-year-old threw for 3,968 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions after appearing in every game in 2021. … and Atlanta’s mediocrity last year wasn’t really his fault. But, while once upon a time existed a vision that he’d be a “Falcon for Life,” it’s worth pondering whether Atlanta actually won this trade by moving on from a great player just before his great decline.

And that can be especially true if in this draft, a replacement like Malik Willis is tabbed.

Published Apr 10, 2022

MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983, is the author of two best-selling books on the NFL.