It's hard to believe the Atlanta Falcons have their first preseason game in less than a week. The team will soon head to Miami for a pair of joint practices with the Dolphins ahead of their matchup on Friday, August 9. While these games won't affect the upcoming season, teams use them to evaluate the depth at each position.

The Falcons are clearly in win-now mode and could look to make a move if the front office feels it will improve the roster in 2024. There's a certain amount of risk whenever you make a trade. Keeping that in mind, we've identified three possible trade candidates for Atlanta, examining the positives and negatives of each below.

1). LB Troy Andersen

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• Why a trade makes sense: Since the Falcons have two starting-caliber inside linebackers in Nate Landman and Kaden Elliss, trading Andersen would allow them to address one of their other roster needs. "He's a starting linebacker in the national football league," Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said about Andersen. "The thing is, we just happen to have three of them."

• Why a trade doesn't make sense: The Falcons are unlikely to get anything valuable in return for Andersen and there's no sense in giving him away. Atlanta used a second-round pick on the athletic Montana State linebacker just two years ago, so it's somewhat early to give up on him without a favorable return. Perhaps Falcons defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake will find a way to utilize all three linebackers this season in Atlanta.

2). QB Taylor Heinicke

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• Why a trade makes sense: Heinicke has starting experience and an extremely affordable contract for a quality backup QB. With Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix Jr. and Nathan Rourke, Heinicke has little chance to play this season, barring injury. Penix may not be the guy yet, but you have to imagine he will at least be QB2 by the time Week 1 rolls around.

• Why a trade doesn't make sense: First off, Heinicke recently took a pay cut to remain in Atlanta. If that's not enough to convince you, considering he's still a quality backup and locker room presence, the Falcons could benefit from keeping Heinicke around to help develop Penix. Plus, with the NFL's emergency third QB rule, it makes sense to have three capable quarterbacks on the roster.

3). CB A.J. Terrell

(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

• Why a trade makes sense: Terrell is entering the final year of his deal and he's accomplished enough in this league to entice a contender looking to add a No. 1 cornerback. The former first-round pick is still just 25 years old but the team has been unable to work out a long-term extension. Good cornerbacks are extremely tough to find, and Terrell is both physical enough to press receivers and fast enough to keep up on the outside. If another team gets desperate, anything is possible.

• Why a trade doesn't make sense: Atlanta would be giving up a quality player, thus creating a huge hole at one of the team's most uncertain positions. Terrell has a chance to thrive playing for the Falcons under Raheem Morris in a contract year. Unless the team gets back a starting-caliber cornerback in return, any trade could seriously hurt Atlanta's chances in 2024. In my opinion, Terrell has done enough to warrant a long-term extension from the Falcons.

This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Examining 3 potential Falcons trade candidates ahead of NFL season