The Atlanta Falcons have been one of the quieter teams this offseason making moves to their roster ahead of the 2018 campaign. However, the front office does have star quarterback Matt Ryan's looming contract situation overhead the franchise.
Ryan is set to enter the final year of his five-year, $103.7 million deal that has him on pace to enter the 2019 free-agent market. There has continued to be progress made toward hammering out a new extension, which is something that he has further indicated in a recent interview with Kelsey Conway of the Atlanta Falcons official website.
“It’s not something that I get heavily involved in,” Ryan said. “My job is to get myself prepared to go out and be successful on the field and then let the business side of it be handled by the people who are competent at handling that. Everything is good and I think the discussions have been really positive.
“As far as timeframe or anything like that I think it will shake out and handle itself. I’m not sure if it will be today, tomorrow or in a couple of weeks but I really think we are moving in the right direction. I’m excited to be here that’s the biggest thing and I think all of those things will take care of itself.”
Although both sides have neglected to put a timetable on when the deal will be completed, these comments from Ryan only give off the sense that it will be worked out at some point this offseason. It will likely be another lucrative multi-year deal that could feature a high amount of guaranteed money while paying him as one of the top quarterbacks in the league.
In his first 10 seasons in the league, Ryan has brought much stability and success to the Falcons over his tenure. The 32-year-old has strung together an impressive career that has seen him earn four Pro Bowl selections, a First-Team All-Pro nod, an NFL MVP award, and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
Ryan is also just a season removed from garnering his first MVP award after setting franchise-best marks with 4,944 passing yards and 38 touchdown passes along with the fifth-best passer rating all-time at 117.1
The fact that both sides are voicing optimism about the situation should signal that a new deal should be agreed upon in the near future that will potentially keep Ryan in a Falcons' uniform for the rest of his NFL career.
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