Amid the rampant speculation surrounding his future, Matt Ryan is aiming to remain with the Atlanta Falcons for the 2022 season.

During his post-game press conference following the Falcons’ Week 18 home defeat to the New Orleans Saints, Ryan did not shy away from engaging in talk about his future in Atlanta but was rather direct in his declaration that he aspires to stay put.

“Yeah, I want to be here,” Ryan said. “I believe in this team. Coaching staff, I think, did a great job. I really feel fortunate to have been here as long as I have.

“I feel good about this group of guys, coaching staff, everybody, the direction it's going.”

Ryan’s future with the Falcons has been much in question over the past couple of months. The 36-year-old quarterback has a mere two more seasons remaining on his current contract with the team. More so, he is due for a $48.6 million cap hit for the 2022 campaign.

A report from ESPN’s Chris Mortensen did note that Ryan is on par to return for next season, as this comes at the request of head coach Arthur Smith.

However, Smith is not yet ready to publicly declare whether Ryan will be under center for the Falcons next season.

“Matt knows how we feel about him,” Smith said following the defeat to New Orleans. “But you're not going to get a hot take from me today to back ourselves into a corner.

“We'll take a fair evaluation of everybody, top to bottom.”

At the least, retirement for Ryan may not be around the corner just yet. The one-time NFL MVP winner did note earlier in the season that he believes he can “play at a high level for a long time.”

The Falcons finished the regular season with a 7-10 record, as they clinched a losing campaign for the fourth straight year.