3 reasons why a Justin Jefferson trade doesn’t make sense for Atlanta

Already this offseason, you’ve spent the most money on Darnell Mooney, Kirk Cousins ​​​​and the backup quarterback position. As much money as the Falcons have invested in Mooney, Cousins, Heinicke and their current veterans, it will be difficult to pay all of their future free agents.

Over the next three years, Kyle Pitts, Drake London, Tyler Allgeier, Bijan Robinson and AJ Terrell will all need to be re-signed or extend their contracts. You have a lot of money locked up in Kirk Cousins ​​and that leaves your margin for error in agreeing to other big contracts very slim.

Justin Jefferson is a natural phenom, but Atlanta’s problem hasn’t been adding talented playmakers. Their problem is a consistent lack of depth and an inability to find a quarterback or coach willing to hand them the ball. The idea of ​​reuniting Kirk Cousins ​​and Jefferson is interesting, however, it would only happen because the Vikings deem Atlanta’s compensation more valuable than paying Jefferson themselves.

Part of what made the end of the Matt Ryan era so ugly was total cap mismanagement. This was evidenced by the team either paying their players too early or handing out contracts that were clearly overpaid. The addition of Justin Jefferson could well fall into this category despite his immense talent.