Getty Arthur Blank talks things over with QB Matt Ryan.
Matt Ryan is the Atlanta Falcons‘ starting quarterback for now, but owner Arthur Blank is already thinking about the future. Blank has made it clear his team needs to have a strategy in place for when 36-year-old Ryan’s time in Atlanta comes to an end.
The owner’s words open up a host of scenarios for the Falcons as the franchise enters a pivotal offseason. General manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Arthur Smith are in the process of rebuilding the roster but appear tethered to Ryan, thanks to the veteran’s lucrative contract and hefty cap hit the next two years.
Yet, that contract doesn’t prohibit the Falcons from accelerating the transition to life after Ryan. Does the plan involve acquiring some competition in free agency? Or does it mean rolling the chance on a prospect from the 2022 NFL draft who could be developed as Ryan’s heir apparent?
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Blank Puts Focus on Ryan End Game
Ryan’s future will again become the Falcons’ focus after Blank didn’t mince his words, per Josh Kendall of The Athletic:
Arthur Blank on Matt Ryan: “He keeps coming back and he keeps playing at a very high level, which he did this year. … At some point we do need to understand that Father Time will get us all and at some point we have to make a clear succession plan to the next quarterback.”
Blank was speaking at NFL Network’s Super Bowl Live event ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals taking on the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, February 13. He was asked directly about whether the Falcons have “settled” on Ryan for now and the immediate future.
Blank’s response was direct, insisting the Falcons still believe they can “win with him at a high level and compete for championships, etc…”
“He’s got a lot of humility and that is so important.”
@AtlantaFalcons Owner Arthur M. Blank joins #SuperBowl Live to talk about Kyle Pitts and Matt Ryan.
That’s quite the endorsement, yet it was telling how quickly Blank offered a disclaimer with the phrase, “but, having said that, there’ll be a point of transition.”
There’s nothing quite like a not-so subtle hint from the boss to focus everybody involved on the big picture. That’s what Blank’s words have done. It was no accident.
Now, it’s up to Fontenot and Smith to decide how best to proceed with a plan to eventually replace Ryan. It won’t be easy to begin this year because their options appear limited.
Ryan Succession Plan May Have to Wait
Blank sounds like he wants to get things started sooner rather than later, but the process of finding the Falcons’ next franchise quarterback may have to wait. At least for this year, when Smith and Fontenot are faced with uninspiring alternatives.
They include a free-agent class headlined by Jameis Winston and also featuring veteran castoffs like Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, Teddy Bridgewater and Mitchell Trubisky. The riches are hardly more plentiful among this year’s rookie crop.
The Falcons are in position to take a quarterback with the eighth-overall pick, but the lack of a standout prospect, coupled with Atlanta’s needs in other areas, make it unlikely. That would leave Fontenot to try and find a project in the later rounds.
A few members of this draft class fit the bill, including Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder, whom the Falcons spoke with at the Senior Bowl, according to The Falcoholic’s Kevin Knight:
Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder confirmed to me that he has met with the #Falcons.
Also mentioned that he models his game after Deshaun Watson and Ryan Tannehill, and that one his favorite players is Julio Jones.
Ridder wouldn’t be ready to start as a rookie, but he’d likely inspire more confidence than any member of the group currently behind Ryan on the depth chart. A.J. McCarron and Josh Rosen are both free agents Fontenot shouldn’t be in any rush to bring back. Meanwhile, Felipe Franks is an intriguing athlete but is yet to prove he has the mechanics to be a pro-style passer.
The Falcons know Ryan is still their only option, for the moment at least. There’s no other way to play the team’s quarterback situation when Ryan is slated to make $16.25 million in base salary for 2022 and $20.5 million in ’23, per Spotrac.com.
This is still Ryan’s show, but Blank is making sure those rebuilding the team know the clock is ticking.