Atlanta Falcons great, and potential football Hall-of-Famer, Matt Ryan unofficially announced his retirement from the game in an unexpected way.
Since the 2022 NFL season ended, there has been speculation that Matt Ryan might call it a career after 15 seasons in the league. Last year, he had a forgettable 12-game run with the Indianapolis Colts that saw him unceremoniously benched and then reinstated during a tumultuous season for the franchise.
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For several seasons his stats have been on the decline as age and the wear and tear of a long career have clearly had an effect on the man who will turn 38 this week. After being cut by Indianapolis in March, and the outlook of being a backup in 2023 likely not being too appealing for the one-time NFL MVP, Matt Ryan seemingly chose to end his professional football career by announcing plans for a new one.
On Monday morning, the four-time Pro Bowler took to his Twitter account to announce that he has joined the NFL team for CBS Sports and will serve as an analyst starting with the upcoming season. Matt Ryan had yet to officially retire and added a cheeky comment in his post when he stated, “P.S. – this is not a retirement post.”
Matt Ryan ends impressive career after 15 seasons
While his career ended on a sour note — like many great players — and he never won a Super Bowl, Matt Ryan had a career many players would be grateful to have.
After being taken with the third pick overall in the 2008 NFL Draft, the Pennsylvania native went on to be the greatest quarterback in Atlanta Falcons’ history. Over his 14 seasons with the team, he went to the Pro Bowl on four occasions and earned All-Pro honors during his MVP season in 2016.
The Atlanta Falcons reached the playoffs in six of his seasons with the organization, and the team came up short of winning their first NFL championship seven years ago in Super Bowl LI when they lost to the New England Patriots.
Matt Ryan is the Falcons’ all-time leader in games, completions, completion percentage, yards, and touchdowns.