Falcons sound open to trading Matt Ryan, drafting Trevor Lawrence

The Atlanta Falcons might be looking to move off of Matt Ryan

The Atlanta Falcons have already begun the process of blowing everything up and starting over amid an 0-5 start to 2020, with head coach Dan Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff the first two casualties. While owner Arthur Blank does not want quarterback Matt Ryan to be a victim of this house-cleaning, he did acknowledge that drafting Trevor Lawrence with the top pick and getting rid of Ryan is in the cards.

Blank left the door open for a Lawrence selection and the subsequent end of the Ryan era in Atlanta, adding that while he hopes No. 2 is a part of their plans in 2021, that is “not his decision to make” and will also be dependent on Ryan to an extent.

Matt Ryan has had an amazing career, but they might need to go and get Trevor Lawrence

When it’s all said and done, Ryan will have had a tremendous career. Ryan has thrown for 4,000 yards in nine straight seasons, topping 65 percent completion in all but one, while totaling 52,568 yards and 328 touchdown passes in his career. Ryan has made four Pro Bowls while also earning himself an MVP and a Super Bowl appearance.

As it stands right now, the Falcons are tied to Ryan for the foreseeable future, as he is set to account for a cap hit of $117 million over the next three seasons. However, Ryan is still performing well at age 35, having thrown for 1,472 yards and seven touchdowns in Atlanta’s first five games. Considering the tsunami of poor decisions that have doomed Atlanta this year, that’s not half-bad.

If the Falcons and their unnamed new GM can find a team who will bite on Ryan’s pedigree, they could unload that contract, stock up on picks, and find their next franchise changer in the local hero like Lawrence.