getty Matt Schaub #8 of the Atlanta Falcons.
The Falcons are expected to pick up 38-year-old QB Matt Schaub’s $2 million option for the 2020 season.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero first reported the veteran’s possibility of yet another season earlier today via Twitter. The 2020 season will be No. 16 for Schaub.
The #Falcons are expected to pick up QB Matt Schaub’s $2 million option for 2020, source said. No guarantees, but Atlanta retaining Matt Ryan’s veteran backup as it heads into the offseason.
Schaub has been throwing passes for the Falcons for over a decade now and is the first in franchise history to do so. Schaub will turn 39 in June which means another year closer to retirement and it looks like it will be as a Falcon at this point.
Schaub’s Ongoing Career
The Falcons drafted Schaub in the third round (90th overall) during the 2004 NFL Draft. Schaub came out of the University of Virginia. He was drafted in the same class of elite quarterbacks such as Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, and Ben Roethlisberger. As a Falcon, Schaub was Michael Vick’s backup but started in the middle of the season after Vick’s injury.
In 2005, Schaub was named the MVP in the American Bowl preseason game in Tokyo, Japan. He completed 11 of 13 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns in a 27–21 comeback victory over the Indianapolis Colts with a stadium full of over 40,000 fans.
Three years later, he went on to sign with the Houston Texans in 2007. As a Texan, Schaub played in two Pro Bowls; in 2009 and then again in 2012. During the 2009 season, he threw a career-high of 396 completions, 4,770 yards, 29 touchdowns and averaged 298.1 yards per game. And in the 2012 season, Schaub was considered as an MVP candidate.
Schaub was traded to the Oakland Raiders in 2014 for a sixth-round draft pick as a backup QB. Then in 2015, he signed a one-year contract to throw at backup for the Baltimore Ravens
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Atlanta Roots
Atlanta has been home for Schaub since first being drafted by the Falcons. He met his Falcons cheerleader wife, Laurie Schaub at a charity golf tournament and the couple wed in 2008. Together, they started their own foundation called “GR8Hope” in 2011 to bring healing to children with medical needs with all the resources and support they need to the children and their families.
In March of 2016, Schaub signed a one-year contract worth over $2 million to bring him back to Atlanta with $500,000 guaranteed. Again in March of 2017, he signed a two-year extension, $9 million contract extension with the Falcons but did not appear in any games as a backup until 2018. Schaub has spent the last three seasons as Matt Ryan’s backup. Coming into the 2019 season, he has attempted a total of 77 passes with 67 attempts.
Finally, in 2019 Schaub made his first start in Atlanta after Matty Ice suffered an ankle injury. He finished his first start against the Seattle Seahawks with 460 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Despite the 20-27 loss, Schaub’s 460 yards passing were the second-most passing yards in a single game by a Falcon ever and the most allowed by the Seahawks against an opposing quarterback in history. On top of that, his 39 pass completions set a Falcons franchise record.
According to overthecap.com, Atlanta is currently 30th in the league in cap space. Austin Hooper is expected to get around $11 million a year in his next contract, so spending a chunk of the cap on backup QB could lose their chances of keeping Hooper around.