The fallout from the Deshaun Watson trade to Cleveland will have massive repercussions in Atlanta, since the Falcons put all their eggs in one basket. Now, they either have to convince Matt Ryan to stay in Atlanta, or hit the “rebuild” button and trade away the face of their franchise.
All things considered, Arthur Blank put his reputation on the line in his pursuit of Watson and wasn’t rewarded. Landing Watson would’ve completely changed the trajectory of this franchise under the new regime. Not only because Atlanta would’ve locked in a new franchise quarterback for the next decade, but the free agents itching to play with a signal caller of Watson’s caliber would’ve transformed the Falcons as well. Nobody is lining up to take a pay cut to play with Ryan, but reportedly, a slew of free agents were waiting to sign with Atlanta if a Watson deal got done.
#Falcons felt they had Deshaun Watson as of this AM. There were even 3 free agents waiting (Jarvis Landry, A.J. Green and possibly Leonard Fournette) who were thinking about joining him. Just an insane situation.
— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) March 18, 2022
Green is washed and wouldn’t move the needle much, but Landry and Fournette would’ve been impactful additions. Both probably would’ve taken less money to play with a guy like Deshaun Watson, but the Falcons are left with their hands in their pockets and no easy way to entice free agents. Now, they’ll have to answer to Matt Ryan.
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