Getty Image / Michael Hickey
- Atlanta Falcons GM Terry Fontenot spoke with the media on Wednesday about the team’s decision to trade Matt Ryan
- Fontenot discussed the Falcons’ choice to incur an NFL-record $40.525 million dead cap hit on Matt Ryan and what it means for the team’s future
- Read more NFL stories here
It is a new era in Atlanta. Matt Ryan has been the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons since 2008 and was one of the most reliable QBs in the league spanning the past three decades.
Matt Ryan’s dependability and success are just part of the reasons why it came as a shock to many when the Falcons traded Matt Ryan to the Colts for a 3rd round pick AND Atlanta got hit with an NFL-record $40.525 million dead cap hit. Atlanta Falcons GM Terry Fontenot spoke with NFL media on Wednesday and clarified the team’s decision to trade Ryan and incur the record-setting dead cap hit.
Based on his comments, it sounds like it was equal parts wanting to do right by Matt Ryan and planning for Atlanta’s future. The NFL is a business and it’s rare to see a team make a decision while considering what’s best for a player and not just what’s best for the organization.
Atlanta Falcons GM Terry Fontenot Explains Team’s Choice To Incur Record Dead Cap Hit
Terry Fontenot on ‘doing right’ by Matt Ryan: “He’s earned the right to be involved, and so he was. He was involved in this whole process. Arthur (Smith) was great at communicating with him on a daily basis, and we allowed him to communicate with the team. It was more important for us to let Matt be involved in it and get Matt somewhere where he wanted to be as opposed to just trying to maximize the value.
Again, so appreciative of him and who he is as a man. That decision was us looking at the long term and trying to do what’s right for him and doing what’s right for the team when you look at the impact that it will have on us next year and the situation we’re going to be in next year at this point.”
#Falcons GM Terry Fontenot on getting a third-round pick for Matt Ryan: "It was more important for us to do right by Matt than to try to maximize compensation. Yes, we probably could have opened it up and talked to every team and … gotten more compensation."
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 23, 2022
Atlanta Falcons GM Terry Fontenot on the dead cap hit: “We’re taking it on the chin this year. But taking it on the chin this year and how you look at where we are next year, it’s significant. If not, if we don’t do that, we could’ve restructured his contract or done something with his contract and kept him this year, and then we would still have to trade him after the season or if we keep him next year then you’re still in a really tough salary cap situation.
With this, you take it on the chin this year and it’s our job to find value in free agency and to draft well and to put a good football team on the field this year, even with that dead cap. It’s an obstacle, but we look at it as an opportunity, and that’s our job. We’re not making excuses about it. Us taking it on the chin right now, it makes a significant difference for us next year and the future.”
Will the Falcons remain competitive this season?
Terry Fontenot on a team ‘rebuild’: “These guys are excited about going out there and competing. Yes, it’s a challenge with all the dead money this year, it’s a challenge. But taking it all on this year, we’re excited about what we’re going to do this year because we’re going to do the best we can and we’re going to go out and compete, and then next year, it’s significant when you look at where we are.
We would never say (this is a rebuild) because it’s just not fair. It’s not fair to the players here. We’ve got 17 games next year, and we’re going to go out and compete in every single one of them. … That’s why rebuild is not something that we ever want to say.”
On the Atlanta Falcons getting Deshaun Watson:
Did you think you were getting Deshaun Watson?
Fontenot: "There was a never a time that we felt that we were going to have that player here.
Were the Falcons give a chance to match the Browns contract?
“No. But we’re not going to get into the details of that part of it."
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) March 23, 2022
Watch The Atlanta Falcons Press Conference Here
If you’re interested, you can watch the press conference on YouTube below.
The Atlanta Falcons have their work cut out for them. They’ll need to keep their current players motivated throughout a down period. Even if Atlanta Falcons GM Terry Fontenot isn’t willing to say the word ‘rebuild’ that’s exactly what the team is going through right now in a new era without Matt Ryan.