Falcons Have Not Had Any Trade Discussions Involving QB Matt Ryan Or WR Julio Jones

According to Tom Pelissero, the Falcons have not had any trade discussions involving either QB Matt Ryan or WR Julio Jones.

Pelissero adds the expectation is that both players are back and a key part of the team for 2021. 

He notes new Falcons HC Arthur Smith runs a variant of the offense that helped Ryan win the MVP award in 2016. 

Both players also carry prohibitive dead money cap hits in a trade, which makes it more impractical for Atlanta to move on this offseason. 

According to Over The Cap, the Falcons would incur dead money hits of $44.437 and $23.25 million in 2021 for trading Ryan and Jones. 

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 in 2019. 

In 2020, Jones appeared in nine games for the Falcons and caught 51 passes for 771 yards receiving and three 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 in 2018 that included $100 million guaranteed.

Ryan stands to make a base salary of $23,000,000 for the 2021 season. 

In 2020, Ryan started all 16 games for the Falcons and completed 65 percent of his passes for 4,581 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.