The expectation is that quarterback Matt Ryan will remain with the Falcons for the 2021 season, but the team’s regime change could see them start to think about a future that doesn’t include Ryan under center.
One way they could address that future would be by drafting a quarterback to learn behind Ryan until the team’s ready to make a switch. During an appearance on 680 The Fan on Wednesday, Ryan was asked about that possibility.
Ryan said he and the rest of the Falcons are professionals and “we all understand how this goes” while also touching on how he’d welcome the hypothetical selection to the team.
“You’re not going to be best friends with everybody,” Ryan said, via Jeff Schultz of TheAthletic.com. “But part of being a good teammate is competing and pushing people to be the absolute best they can be. Your job as an individual is to be the best player you can be and find a roster spot regardless of who’s drafted or where they’re drafted. . . . But my personality is not to be standoffish with anybody else.”
Ryan’s contract runs through 2023, but the financial penalties for parting ways get much less severe after the coming season. Drafting a quarterback this April would be a signal that the Falcons brass have such a parting on their minds.
