Depending on what happens with Aaron Rodgers and his uncertain future with the Green Bay Packers, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan could enter the 2022 NFL season as the oldest starting quarterback in the entire league. For a player that has been a staple in the organization, and city of Atlanta for 14 years, it’s hard to imagine anyone else under center.
Ryan will be 37 years old next season and even Falcons owner Arthur Blank knows the former MVP can’t play forever. Blank spoke with Carl Dukes and Mike Bell on 92.9 FM The Game in Atlanta and discussed why it’s important for there to be a succession plan in place.
“There is a transition, we all go through it in life. Age does have its effect over time. Matt [Ryan] keeps himself in great condition and is anxious to keep playing. I think if his performance is at the level it has to be, we will be fine,” said Blank. “But, he’s not going to beat father time, it just doesn’t work in the human body. So at some point, Matt will recognize it, we will recognize there has to be a transition.”
Even though Tom Brady defied the notion of father time to an extent, age eventually catches up with everyone. Especially for someone like Ryan, who takes hit after hit each season playing behind an offensive line in transition.
“In every organization, whether it be a corporate organization or a football team, you have to figure out what a succession plan looks like, what does it mean, and there’s no more important position than at that quarterback position,” continued Arthur Blank. “So, [Arthur Smith], Terry [Fontenot], myself, Rich McKay, and others are all focused on that question, including Matt [Ryan].”
It is important that Ryan be involved in these discussions after he and his family have spent nearly 15 years in Atlanta.
“When is the right time to make that Transition? When is the right time to do it in a thoughtful way? Some of these teams make their draft choices or they don’t really have a plan and the result is they go into this spin cycle and every year there’s a new quarterback. So we have to be thoughtful about it.”
The Falcons have been very fortunate to have a stable option at quarterback for the last 14 years, but they need to make the appropriate considerations to repeat that same success in the future.
Ryan’s contract runs through 2023. Check out his cap hits for the next two seasons.
- 2022: $48.662 million
- 2023: $43.612 million
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