The Atlanta Falcons can’t say goodbye to Matt Ryan yet.
Their longtime quarterback had an opportunity to say farewell to the team that drafted him, especially if Deshaun Watson went to the two-time Super Bowl participants.
However, the Pro Bowl quarterback went elsewhere, leaving the Falcons top brass still finding a resolution with the former league MVP.
That said, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reminded football fans of the situation at hand.
The #Falcons fielded trade calls the last few days centered around QB Matt Ryan, sources say. Today is a deadline to make a decision, as Ryan will earn a $7.5M roster bonus from ATL if he’s on the roster at 4 pm. It’ll be either a trade or back to ATL, possibly with a sweetener.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 21, 2022
Rapoport said, “The #Falcons fielded trade calls the last few days centered around QB Matt Ryan, sources say. Today is a deadline to make a decision, as Ryan will earn a $7.5 million roster bonus from ATL if he’s on the roster at 4 pm. It’ll be either a trade or back to ATL, possibly with a sweetener.”
The Falcons have limited options leading to that deadline because the quarterback market is depleted.
The bigger stars have either joined new teams or signed an extension with their current squad.
Therefore, Atlanta has no choice but to ride it out with Ryan or send him elsewhere.
Either way, they will be on rebuild mode regardless of the path they choose.
Will Ryan Return To Atlanta?
Ryan will have a whopping $48.6 million cap hit if he plays for the Falcons in 2022.
Aside from the roster bonus, he will also get a base salary of $16.25 million.
Atlanta can take a page off the Green Bay Packers’ script and give Ryan a new deal.
That way, the Falcons can restructure the contract to make it cap-friendly in the first one or two years.
If they’re not keen on doing that, then a trade is imminent.
However, there might not be a lot of teams who are willing to take on Ryan’s contract.
Likewise, dealing their quarterback gives them a bigger problem because there’s only the likes of Baker Mayfield or Jimmy Garoppolo left to acquire.
NEXT: 3 NFL Teams That Should Trade For Matt Ryan
