Falcons HC on Matt Ryan's Future: 'We Anticipate Matt Being Part of the Team'

The Atlanta Falcons expect veteran Matt Ryan to be their quarterback in the 2022 season, though nothing is guaranteed. 

"We anticipate Matt being part of the team, but you don't ever back yourself into a corner," head coach Arthur Smith told reporters Tuesday. "If someone gives you an offer you can't refuse—Matt knows how we feel about him. Matt has a lot of good football left in him."

Team chairman Arthur Blank acknowledged in early February that "at some point, there will be a sunset for him" when talking about Ryan's future with the team, adding that "it will become clear that [the Falcons] need to move forward."

But Blank also noted he didn't know when that time would be.

"Great franchises have a successful transition from one quarterback to the next," he said. "We want to make sure we're focused on doing the same thing. Coach understands that and so does our general manager."

It doesn't appear it will be 2022, at least based on Smith's comments, though general manager Terry Fontenot told reporters the team would do its due diligence by evaluating the quarterbacks in April's draft. 

"Where you can get in trouble is if you reach and feel desperate in certain areas," he said. "We're not going to do that, but we are going to evaluate. We have formal interviews with several quarterbacks [on Monday]. There's a good group in this draft. There are different flavors and, at the appropriate time, we'll add to that position. You can get in trouble if you reach and you don't feel good about a certain position."

Ryan, 36, started all 17 games for the Falcons in 2021, throwing for 3,968 yards and 20 touchdowns with 12 interceptions while completing 67 percent of his passes.

It wasn't a banner year for the four-time Pro Bowler and 2016 MVP, though he was without Julio Jones (traded to the Tennessee Titans) and largely without Calvin Ridley, who sat out all but five games to focus on his mental health. Ridley is a candidate to be traded, which could leave Ryan devoid of another weapon.

"We love the young man," Blank said of Ridley. "He has had a great history in Atlanta. We'd love him to stay in Atlanta. Whether or not he wants to do that—he may decide that he wants a fresh start someplace else. We don't know that. I don't know that. I don't have information to indicate that, but we'll see how that plays out.

"We've been totally supportive in every way that we can be, both emotionally and financially in working with him as well as his agent. We'll see, but I'm mostly concerned about him as a human being."