Falcons Have No Plans To Trade WR Julio Jones & QB Matt Ryan

Adam Schefter of ESPN, citing sources close to the situation, reports that the Falcons will not trade QB Matt Ryan or WR Julio Jones before the upcoming trade deadline.

Sources tell Schefter while the team is in last place in the NFC South and has already fired HC Dan Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff, Atlanta isn’t looking to move on from Ryan and Jones.

Schefter says other teams have checked in on Jones, but have been told the Falcons have no plans to trade him. The same is true for Ryan.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank did not commit to Ryan being back with the Falcons next year and beyond and plans to leave it up to the next regime.

Ian Rapoport also reports that sources have told him neither player will be traded. One source told Rapoport that the idea of them being traded was “ridiculous” considering the negative cap implications.

Jones, 31, is a former first-round pick of the Falcons back in 2011. He was in the fifth year of his six-year, $81.432 million contract that includes $47 million guaranteed when he agreed to a three-year, $66 million fully guaranteed contract extension last year. 

In 2020, Jones has appeared in four games for the Falcons and caught 23 passes for 350 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

Ryan, 35, is a former first-round pick of the Falcons back in 2008. He was entering the final year of his six-year, $103.75 million contract when he agreed to a new five-year, $150 million extension with the Falcons last year that included $100 million guaranteed.

Ryan stands to make a base salary $23,000,000 for the 2020 season. 

In 2020, Ryan has appeared in six games for the Falcons and completed 65.2 percent of his passes for 1,843 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions.