On Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder, Feleipe Franks and Falcons QB situation, Roquan Smith and more

Tanner Bennett from Adel, Ga.

With Roquan Smith wanting out of Chicago, do you think the Falcons should make a run at a trade for him, keep in mind he is on the last year of his rookie contract

Bair: Roquan Smith is awesome, but the entire state of Georgia already knows that. What he did for the Bulldogs won’t be soon forgotten. I think he’s a next-level player, but you have to trade for him. That won’t come cheap. Then you have to pay him long term. Again, that won’t come cheap.

Doubt the Bears would take Deion Jones’ contract in a straight up trade, either. Jeff Schultz of The Athletic ponders a Smith trade right here. I might do that straight swap, though, and exchange big contracts. Anything more and I might raise an eyebrow. It would take a lot of hard work to get a deal done and it’s a fair question to wonder if inside linebacker is where to spend a huge chunk of cash with A.J. Terrell and Chris Lindstrom will be up for extensions soon enough and other areas were wise investment could help the club. Never say never because Terry Fontenot’s always looking to add quality, but I’m not sure that’s the move to make right now if the Bears want a big return. We’ll have to see how things play out.

Chris Atlas for Marietta, Ga.

Ok Scott we all know you have an affinity for certain players heading into the season, most notably Lorenzo Carter. So with the first preseason game Friday which player or players are you most excited to see in live game action? Furthermore, do you foresee any players currently leading in position battles that could lose their spot in preseason?

Bair: I definitely have favorites, don’t I? I am intrigued by how Lorenzo Carter will fare over significant snaps during the regular season. My new favorite under-the-radar player is receiver KhaDarel Hodge, a scrapper who just gets open and is available to make plays.

I do want to see quarterbacks Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder on Friday against Detroit, and I think (I don’t know) that we’ll see both…