It seems the need to protect franchise quarterback Matt Ryan may have pushed the Atlanta Falcons to do a bad deal. The Andy Levitre trade, consummated by the Falcons and new head coach Dan Quinn with the Tennessee Titans on Friday, apparently isn't viewed particularly favorably around the league. An unnamed NFL executive, speaking to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, panned the trade, indicating his disbelief that the Falcons actually traded for Levitre, taking on his exorbitant $6.5 million salary and installing him immediately at one of their starting guard spots.
"I really still can't believe it," the executive told La Canfora. "They must be beyond desperate."
La Canfora, calling Levitre "one of the biggest free agent flops in recent history," echoed his own fear of the Falcons and Ryan depending on the big guard to actually offer quality service this season.
Levitre was unable to secure a starting spot for a bad Titans team, led by a bad offensive line, attempting to break in a rookie quarterback, but the Falcons still felt he was a better option than what they already had in place in Mike Person and Adam Replogle. The thought process behind the move constitutes either a gross overestimation on the part of Quinn and Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff or a stunning revelation that they were as dissatisfied with what was already in-house and therefore as desperate as La Canfora's unnamed exec suggests.
Desperation or no though, La Canfora reveals that the Titans were actually ready to cut Levitre outright were they unable to find a trade partner, which really makes quite a bit of sense considering the "awful" tape he'd put together over the past few years and his hefty price tag - a price tag the Falcons will now be forced to pay.
