Getty Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons.
Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank addressed the media on Monday following the firing of Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff.
Blank noted that things need to change in Atlanta and when he was asked about 35-year-old Matt Ryan still at quarterback in the future, he said it’s not up to him nor did he use his ‘Falcon for life’ phrase.
“I love Matt, much like I love Dan, I love Thomas,” Blank said via ESPN. “Matt’s been a franchise leader for us, great quarterback; one of the leading quarterbacks in the last 13 years in the NFL. I hope he’s going to be part of our plans going forward. But that will be a decision that I won’t make.
“Matt has the ability to play at a very high level, even at this age. Whether that’s going to continue or not, I’m not sure. I appreciate his willingness to consider doing that and the level at what he’s played for us for 13 years, which has been incredible. So we’ll have to see. But then again, that’s going to be a decision, at the end of the day, that part of it will be up to the player; part of it will be up to the coaching staff. And whether or not Matt can keep himself together. God willing, he’ll be able to do that and play at the level that he’s capable of playing at.”
Ryan Plans on Playing A Lot Longer
While Blank is uncertain of Ryan’s future, Matty Ice told ESPN’s Vaughn McClure last year he wants to play into his 40s.
Ryan has three years of a $150 million extension he signed in May of 2018. $74.75 million is left on that deal and heading into 2021, he’ll count $40,912,500 against the cap. The Falcons already had to reconstruct his contract twice to enhance the roster and probably will again this year.
Falcons President Rich McKay said Monday that the new general manager will have control of personnel decisions under the new structure along with the head coach and report to McKay.
Ryan admitted after the loss to the Carolina Panthers for not performing up to expectations this season. In the last two games, he hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass and threw an atrocious fourth-quarter interception in the end zone during the Falcons on Sunday.
Through five games this season, Ryan has completed 129 of 204 passes for 1,472 yards with seven touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 90.2. He currently sits ninth on the all-time passing list with 52,658 yards.
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Matt Ryan Defended Dan Quinn
The firing of Quinn is only slightly surprising since plays openly defended him Sunday night and took all the blame.
Ryan said that he hoped Quinn wouldn’t lose his job over the 0-5 start.
“I think Dan’s been nothing but a great head coach since he’s been here”, Ryan told the media on Sunday We just haven’t done a good enough job as a team and as players. It’s a hard business, that’s for sure. We all love and respect what Dan does for this football team. We’ve got to find a way as players to be better.”
Running back Todd Gurley also chimed in and said “yeah, stop talking about my coach.”
It was time for Quinn to go and we can only wish him the best on his next journey.
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