Atlanta Falcons interested in a trade for Tennessee Titans QB Ryan Tannehill

Ryan Tannehill has always made sense as a trade option for the Atlanta Falcons, and it turns out they almost traded for the Tennessee Titans quarterback on draft day.

Simon Hunter of the Action Network is reporting that the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons had conversations surrounding Ryan Tannehill and the 8th overall pick on Thursday Night.

In fact, he goes on to say that if the financials hadn't gotten in the way, the Titans would have shipped their long-time quarterback off to the Falcons. Not only was a deal nearly done, but a deal could still be done at some point in the future.

Here is the quote:

""Atlanta was going to trade for Tannehill. That was a real thing. Tennessee was going to give Tannehill to Atlanta, and they were going to move up to the eighth spot. They couldn’t work out the money...Who knows what could happen in the middle of the season, keep that on people's radar."

- Simon Hunter

I shouldn't have to specify, but this wasn't a proposed swap of the Titans giving up Tannehill for the 8th overall pick. I would imagine that this trade proposal started off as the Falcons trying to get their playoff quarterback and then other draft picks were thrown in to even the deal out from a value standpoint.

Even if both sides deny that this happened, we know that Ran Carthon said several times that he was making calls and that the team was talking to everyone. We also know that the team eventually drafted Will Levis and Tyjae Spears to replace Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry at some point within the next year.

The Falcons or the San Francisco 49ers have always been the two teams with playoff rosters that need a quarterback this season if they want to make any noise. A straw poll of Tennessee Titans fans will tell you that this isn't a year they expect to go to the playoffs, which means that if you can get anything for Ryan Tannehill or Derrick Henry you should do that.

Considering that the Atlanta Falcons are either going to get a 2nd or a 3rd-round pick from the Jacksonville Jaguars, that means that the team is going to have some extra draft capital to work with. It wouldn't surprise me if Arthur Smith makes a deal for Tannehill and then they give him a new contract that keeps him on the roster for a couple of years while reducing his cap hit.

That would be a win-win for the Tennessee Titans and the Atlanta Falcons and it would help replenish the Titans' draft capital for next year after they spent a 2024 3rd-round pick to trade up for Will Levis.