Atlanta Falcons

If Tua Tagovailoa is still on the board when the Falcons draft this spring, should Atlanta take him???

That's what we asked Julio Jones out at LAX on Friday ... and he told us straight-up, "We've got our franchise quarterback there in Matt Ryan."

Of course, Matty Ice wasn't the reason ATL was a disappointing 7-9 this season ... but some rumblings are starting to grow about how much the 34-year-old QB has left in the tank.

Seems his star receiver thinks PLENTY ... but Jones also told us he would understand if the Falcons did choose a signal-caller with the No. 16 overall pick in April.

"The general manager, he got to do his thing," Jones said.

As for the future of his Falcons coming off a down year ... Julio doesn't seem worried a repeat of 2019 is on the way, telling us the key to ATL's success is to just stay healthy.

Quavo is sick of watching his favorite Atlanta Falcons squad underperform on Sundays ... so he's giving some advice to Dan Quinn -- bench Matt Ryan for Colin Kaepernick!!!

"We need to get Matt Ryan out of there!" the Migos rapper tells TMZ Sports.

Of course, Colin ain't on the Falcons' roster ... and it's unclear if Atlanta even sent a rep to watch his workout near the team's facility Saturday.

But, Quavo tells us he doesn't care ... and says the Falcons need to add Kap and subtract Ryan ASAP!!!

"I love Colin," Quavo says. "Colin should be on a team!"

Doesn't seem likely the Falcons take Quavo's advice ... Matty Ice is locked into a 5-year, $150 MILLION contract -- and he actually hasn't been horrible this season.

But, hey ... Kap might be better than Ryan's backup, Matt Schaub, who is 38 years old now.

Here's a fun way to escape your 1-7 teammates ...

Julio Jones ditched the Falcons during his squad's bye this weekend ... flying all the way out to the Bahamas to bro down with Roddy White for the ex-ATL star's birthday -- and it looked awesome!!!

The party went down at SLS Baha Mar in Nassau ... with White throwing a cool little get-together at the resort's swanky pool for his 38th.

There was bottle service, signs that spelled out "Roddy" ... and plenty of R&R for Julio before he had to get back to an Atlanta team with no hopes of the playoffs this season.

It's pretty cool that the two NFL studs are still good friends ... Jones and Roddy played together from 2011 to 2015 -- but shared a bond much bigger than just football.

Roddy was instrumental in helping Julio during his first few years in the league ... while 30-year-old Julio was later there for White to help him after he tragically lost his brother in 2014.

"Every day, he called me and checked up on me," White said of Julio at the time to NFL.com. "Asked me how I was doing, came down for the funeral, showed up at the house. You know, that was really, really special to me. I needed him to get through that."

Matt Ryan has pissed off one of his biggest ATL Falcons fans -- Quavo from The Migos -- who tells TMZ Sports the team needs to bench Matty already ... and start HIM!!!

"Put Matty on Ice, put Quavo in tonight!"

Quavo's not only from Georgia, he's also a HUGE football fan who used to be a STUD quarterback himself back in his high school days.

In fact, Quavo was Gwinnett County, Georgia's all-time single-game completions leader ... and posted a sick highlight video showing him breaking tackles, juking pass-rushers and finding his WRs with the deep ball!

So, when we spotted Quavo leaving Avra in Beverly Hills we asked how his beloved Falcons can get things back on track.

"Matt Ryan is making me mad right now," Quavo said ... "If the Falcons start me, I'll play and I'll throw to Julio Jones every play!"

Hey, it's not a bad plan ...

The Falcons are coming to L.A. to play the Rams this weekend -- and Quavo also has a friendly warning for his pal Jalen Ramsey ... JULIO JONES IS GONNA BUST YOUR ASS!

No, the Falcons didn't just win the Super Bowl ... they just celebrated like they did -- 'cause linebacker Duke Riley led an insane locker room dance party after their W over the Eagles!!

ATL scored a big win over one of the best teams in the league Sunday night -- beating Philadelphia 24-20 -- and their post-game party was pretty epic.

Riley led the way with some awesome moves -- there was arm flailing, bouncing, leg gyrating ... it was awesome!!!

Backup running back Kenjon Barner also got into the circle to flash some of his dance moves -- and good times were had by all.

Of course, star QB Matt Ryan was also in the middle of the celebration -- thanking Marcus Trufant for his two-interception night that helped bail Ryan out of a game where he wasn't great.

Julio Jones will NOT be holding out of Falcons practices this year ... the star WR says owner Arthur Blank has promised him a new deal -- and Jones is confident it'll all get done soon.

"Mr. Blank gave us his word," Julio says ... "That's golden."

30-year-old Jones still has 2 years left on a $71 MILLION deal he inked back in 2015 ... but he's been angling for a new contract for a while now.

In fact, Jones held out of Atlanta practices LAST summer ... before he ultimately settled for a small raise before the season began.

But, Jones says he doesn't anticipate any of that happening again this summer ... saying the Falcons have already told him a new contract is on the way.

"[Blank's] word is that it's going to get done," Julio says ... "There's no stress on my end. I'm not thinking about it."

"[Blank] makes it easy for me to go out and just work every day and not have one of those situations where there's a holdout or anything like that."

Jones says he hopes his new contract makes him a Falcon for life ... saying it's his goal to finish out his career in Atlanta.

As for the eventual end to that stellar career ... Jones says he doesn't see retirement coming any time soon -- but he did say he's evaluating his future on a season-to-season basis.

Roddy White was BLINDSIDED when he got the cuffs slapped on him during a traffic stop earlier this month ... telling cops he had no idea he was driving on a suspended license.

"I never got anything in the mail or anything," the Falcons legend says as he's being arrested.

It's all on police video obtained by TMZ Sports ... which shows the ex-Atlanta WR telling Gwinnett County police he straight-up had no clue he missed a court date earlier this year.

You can see in the clip White is shocked to learn of the offense, saying, "Why is my driver's license suspended? Can you tell me why?"

As we previously reported ... White was pulled over in Atlanta on April 12 after officers say he dangerously crossed double lines to enter the carpool lane on I-85.

When cops ran Roddy's name in the system -- they found he had a warrant out for his arrest stemming from a court date from a November 2018 traffic violation that he blew off.

White was hauled to a nearby station where he was booked and processed. His car, an Audi A8L, was impounded.

Atlanta Falcons legend Roddy White was arrested in Georgia earlier this month -- after he was pulled over for a stupid carpool lane mishap ... and cops noticed a warrant out for his arrest.

Gwinnett County police officers say they saw the 37-year-old WR crossing the double lines to enter the carpool lane on I-85 on April 12 -- a big no-no -- and claimed Roddy's bonehead move put other drivers in danger.

During the stop, cops ran Roddy's name in the system and that's when things went from bad to worse ...

Turns out, there's a warrant out for Roddy -- who allegedly blew off a court date from a previous legal situation.

Cops say Roddy's driver's license had also been suspended -- so, he was arrested and hauled to a nearby station where he was booked and processed. His car, an Audi A8L, was impounded.

Unclear what the previous violation is ... but it seems to be another traffic-related incident since his license was suspended.

The whole thing sounds VERY similar to the case of Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette -- who was arrested in Florida earlier this month when a routine traffic stop revealed a warrant and suspended license too.

In Fournette's case, he had failed to pay a speeding ticket -- and then failed to show up to court. When he was stopped on April 11, cops handcuffed him at a car wash and took him in.

Fournette later paid the fine and now the case is closed. Seems like White will have a similar outcome.

We reached out to Roddy for comment -- so far, no word back.

Steve Sarkisian says he's super excited to return to Tuscaloosa ... telling TMZ Sports he can't wait to get back to work as the offensive coordinator at Alabama.

Sark had a stint under Nick Saban as an offensive analyst back in 2016 -- where he helped the Tide get all the way to the National Championship game against Clemson.

After the '16 season, Sark was hired as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons -- but he was let go at the end of the 2018 season.

Enter, Saban ... who swooped in and hired Sarkisian back as the new O-Coordinator -- and the 45-year-old coach tells us he's "fired up" about the job.

"I'm excited man," Sark told us at LAX ... "It's a great opportunity!"

When asked if he's still hoping to get back to the NFL one day, Sark told us, "Ya never know. Just focus on the job you have now. I'm fired up to have it."

And, he's already talking like a mini-Saban -- we asked if he's got his sights set on avenging the championship loss to Clemson and Sark told us, "Just take it one day at a time, man. You know the process at Alabama."

11:57 AM PT -- A rep for Banks tells TMZ Sports the allegations are simply not true -- adding, "Evidence exists that proves this false."

Ex-NFL player Brian Banks -- who was famously exonerated in a previous rape case -- is facing new allegations of sexual assault in a lawsuit ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Banks is being sued by a woman who claims the former Atlanta Falcons player hired her to clean his apartment in Feb. 2018 -- and while she went to work, he pulled out his penis and started masturbating in front of her.

In her suit, the woman claims Banks showed her porn on his computer and asked her to join in -- and when she refused, he got up and started forcing himself on her.

The woman claims Banks forcefully kissed her breasts and began groping her butt. She also claims Banks forced her to touch his penis while she "repeatedly" asked Banks to stop and let her go.

Eventually, the woman left -- and now she claims she was so traumatized, she can no longer clean homes out of fear she might be assaulted or raped.

She's suing Banks for $10 MILLION for assault, battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

We reached out to Banks for comment -- so far, no word back.

Brian's story is famous -- he was a high school football phenom when a classmate accused of him of rape in 2002. He eventually served 5 YEARS in prison.

But, after he was released, the accuser admitted she LIED -- and a judge overturned the conviction in 2012.

Banks resumed his football career and even signed a contract with the Falcons in 2013.

NFL yacht wars are in full effect ... 'cause just like Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder, the mega-rich owner of the Atlanta Falcons, Arthur Blank, just bought a superyacht -- for $180 MILLION!!!

The brand spankin' new 240-ft. yacht -- with 11 cabins holding 23 guests plus 33 crew -- is named DreAMBoat (AMB are Blank's initials) ... and it's insanely beautiful.

There's a swimming pool and hot tub on the ship's deck -- plus a bunch of other bells and whistles -- and Blank's private quarters also has its own private hot tub.

A luxury yacht company called Oceanco built the boat ... and we're told 76-year-old Blank was VERY involved in the process -- flying to the Netherlands several times to meet with the ship makers.

DreAMBoat just touched the water for the first time earlier this week ... and will soon undergo sea trials -- where they'll make sure she's seaworthy. Dutch Yachting got footage of the action.

The yacht company expects to deliver the boat to Blank in time for this Summer.

Blank is just the latest NFL owner to drop hundreds of millions of dollars on a mega yacht ... Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder threw down $100,000,000 on a 305-ft. yacht that has its own freakin' IMAX theatre.

Not to be outdone ... Cowboys owner Jerry Jones dropped $250 MILLION on a 357-ft. yacht with 2 helipads, steam room, full gym and a massage room -- which he named after his wife of over 50 years and counting, Gene Jones.

Now, add Arthur to the NFL owners yacht club.

Blank amassed his reported $4.8 BILLION (according to Forbes) by co-founding Home Depot in 1978 ... making him one of the wealthiest owners in the NFL.

He purchased the Falcons for $545 million in 2002 ... and they've made the playoffs (and 1 Super Bowl) since he assumed control of the organization.

The Falcons have quadrupled in value and are now estimated to be worth $2.1 BILLION.

Remember that disgusting bone-snapping injury Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert suffered in 2018???

Dude's doing MUCH better now ... crushing foot drills with a big smile on his face as he preps for his big comeback in 2019!!!

TE suffered a gruesome injury on Sept. 30 against the Falcons, when he got pummeled by linebacker De'Vondre Campbell, who awkwardly fell on Tyler's right ankle and snapped it sideways.

Relive the experience below (or don't. We wouldn't blame you one bit. It's so nasty).

Eifert appears to have put the horrific experience behind him ... rippin' through a set of drills in a workout vid he posted Thursday.

"Looks a lot better than the last time you saw my ankle! #LETSGO," Eifert says.

Bow Wow was more than willing to talk after his arrest Saturday morning for allegedly beating a woman ... but what he wants to talk about has nothing to do with the incident.

We got Bow Wow Saturday night leaving Magic City Strip Club in ATL and he said on the advice of his lawyer he couldn't say anything about the incident.

As TMZ reported ... Bow Wow and the woman were both arrested after they allegedly got in some sort of physical altercation at 4:15 AM Saturday in Atlanta. The woman claimed Bow Wow assaulted her. He claimed it was the opposite.

Bow Wow was booked for Battery with Substantial Physical Harm ... despite the fact cops told us the injuries were "minor." He was released on $8k bail.

5:44 PM PT -- Falcons head coach Dan Quinn released a statement to TMZ saying, "We were recently made aware of the situation involving Takk in Los Angeles earlier today. Any time a situation occurs that is or could be related to mental health issues we take it very seriously. We will do everything we possibly can to support and assist Takk as our players' mental and physical well-being are always our top priority."

Atlanta Falcons defensive end Takkarist McKinley was detained by police in L.A. on Tuesday and is undergoing a mental evaluation following an incident at a hotel ... TMZ Sports has learned.

McKinley was with a friend at a high-end hotel around noon when something happened and the friend became concerned about McKinley's well-being. We're told the friend called police for help.

We're told cops spoke with McKinley who agreed it was in his best interest to get help -- and he cooperated and left with police. We're told McKinley was NOT arrested or booked for any crime.

The 23-year-old was selected in the 1st round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of UCLA and had a solid rookie season for the Falcons -- posting 20 tackles and 6 sacks.

McKinley famously brought a framed picture of his late grandmother to the stage at the NFL Draft and explained that he had made a promise to her on her deathbed that he would make it to the NFL.

Story developing ...

The times they are a-changin' ... which is why a legendary NFL wide receiver thinks Julio Jones and Antonio Brown should team up to win it all.

TMZ Sports got Cowboys HOF'er Michael Irvin outside of Catch in Weho Friday night, and he tells us he'd like to see the Falcons WR and the Pittsburgh WR -- who's on the outs with the Steelers -- get together to win a Super Bowl ... because neither one of 'em has won anything yet.

We broke the story ... Jones rejected the notion of A.B. coming to Atlanta, saying his team was good as is. But, Irvin thinks if LeBron can hook up with D. Wade, and Durant can hook up with Steph to get a ring ... Julio should be a little more open to the idea.

How dope would a 1-2 punch of Julio Jones and Antonio Brown look in Atlanta?!?!

Not that dope ... according to Julio himself -- who tells TMZ Sports he and the Falcons actually don't want to see that at all.

"Nah, man. We tight over here. We good over here."

Of course, the pairing will be possible in what appears to be a matter of days ... seeing as A.B.'s antics have pretty much ended his time in the Steel City.

But, don't expect Julio to openly recruit the stud wideout to the Falcons once that happens ... 'cause when we got Julio out in L.A. -- he seemed to want no part of it.

Why?? Sure seems like Jones thinks the baggage Brown would bring to the locker room wouldn't be worth his insane production on the field.

As for the guys currently on Julio's team ... Jet spoke with us about Steve Sarkisian's firing and what he expects to see from new OC Dirk Koetter.