Pros and cons of a Ryan Tannehill trade for the Falcons

Despite all public declarations to the contrary, many NFL pundits question if the Atlanta Falcons front office is truly 100 percent committed to quarterback Desmond Ridder.

And while there’s hasn’t been any concrete proof that the Falcons have interest in any other quarterbacks, speculation of a trade for Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill just won’t go away.

Simon Hunter of Action Network reported in early May that the Falcons had actually tried to trade for Tannehill during the 2023 draft but the deal fell apart because the teams couldn’t make the money work.

While a Tannehill-to-Atlanta trade is absolutely intriguing, is it realistic? Here are the pros and cons of such a deal for the Falcons.

Why it makes sense

With just one year left on his contract, it’s no secret the Titans would likely want to move on from Tannehill sooner than later and see what they have in rookie Will Levis, given they don’t have a fifth-year option to work with after he was taken in the second round.

Tannehill’s best seasons were with Falcons head coach Arthur Smith as his offensive coordinator when he throw for 252.3 yards per start with 55 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and a passer rating of 112 from 2019 to 2020. He could step right in and run Atlanta’s offense with zero learning curve while throwing to better pass catchers (Drake London, Mack Hollins, Kyle Pitts, Jonnu Smith) than he has in Tennessee.

Given Tannehill’s age (he turns 35 on July 27) and that he’s in the final year of his contract, the Falcons presumably wouldn’t have to surrender much in terms of trade compensation. It would likely only cost them a third- or fourth-round pick.

Why it doesn’t make sense

If the Falcons were to pull the trigger for Tannehill, it would nullify two things.

First, nobody knows what Ridder is yet. He’s only 23 and has just four games of starting experience to be judged on. He hasn’t played a down with No. 8 overall pick Bijan Robinson or had the chance to really develop a rapport with London or Pitts. Trading for Tannehill would signal that Atlanta essentially wasted a third-round draft pick last year.