Could This be the Final Year for Matt Ryan as an Atlanta Falcon?

There is a lot riding on the Atlanta Falcons 2016 season.

The franchise enters its fourth season since falling just short of advancing to the Super Bowl in the NFC Championship game in 2013. That game that feels like eons ago. Since coming so close to those years ago, the Falcons have fallen off a cliff; they've changed head coaches, remade the front office, and haven't had a winning season since that magical run in 2012-13.

There are a lot of reasons for the Falcons' fall from grace, and it's hard to say if quarterback play is one of them. Matt Ryan will play his ninth season this year and has, outside of last season, avoided a lot the blame for the Falcons' recent struggles. Poor coaching, a barren roster, and a dysfunctional organization have all probably played a role in helping Ryan avoid criticism, but when you're the highest-paid player on a team that made history, and not in a good way, you can only escape attention for so long.

Coming into this season, Ryan is still viewed as top-15 quarterback in most circles, and people haven't forgotten just how good Ryan and the Falcons were from 2008-2012. A team can win a Super Bowl with Matt Ryan at quarterback. The problem is that no team built the way the Falcons are built would be able to get there. Somehow, Atlanta was the third-oldest team in the NFL last season—only the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts were trotting out more geezers—and they finished 8-8, missing the playoffs once again.

Ryan commands the highest cap number—$23,750,000!—on a team with a roster that's still shot through with holes. That's not Ryan's fault, but his salary doesn't help—he may not be a top-10 quarterback, but he is paid like one, and teams that have to shell out franchise quarterback dollars to their franchise quarterbacks are going to feel that pinch in building the rest of the roster. Just ask Ozzie Newsome in Baltimore, or John Schneider in Seattle. Having a great QB is a huge advantage, but if you haven't filled out the rest of the roster nicely prior to paying a QB you're in trouble. Or, if you're the Falcons, you're left to fill the gaps with the Tyson Jackson's and Mohammed Sanu's on the market.

There is one unexplored way that Ryan could help the Falcons build a contender, though. At 31, Ryan still has a lot of value for a team that believes it's a quarterback away from a Super Bowl. Atlanta needs more players—more receivers, more pass-rushers, more linebackers, more everything—and, outside of Julio Jones, Ryan might be their best trade chip. If things go south this year in Atlanta, moving Ryan should be explored, and maybe expected. His salary won't make it easy, but he'd be worth a lot more to a team that's close than a Falcons team stuck in a slo-mo rebuild. You can still win a Super Bowl with Matt Ryan as your quarterback. It just might not be the Falcons that win it.