The Atlanta Falcons have been stuck in the middle of the road ever since reaching the Super Bowl in 2016. One constant throughout it all has been veteran stalwart quarterback Matt Ryan.
Since the Falcons have already made changes at head coach, swapping Dan Quinn for Arthur Smith in 2021, they still haven’t been able to get over the hump. Some have wondered that the next big change could be at the quarterback position, with the organization possibly looking to trade Matty Ice.
Despite his advancing age, the Falcons reportedly have no plans to part with their QB for the past 14 seasons according to ESPN’s Chris Mortenson. He adds that coach Smith has voiced his opinion that Ryan is his QB for the 2022 season.
Mort mentioned how some have speculated about Ryan ultimately landing back in his home state in Pennsylvania with the Pittsburgh Steelers now that Ben Roethlisberger is expected to retire. But not so fast. He also added that coach Smith has been enamored with Ryan from the very start, which was a contributing factor to him taking the position in the first place.
Matt Ryan faced challenges in first season with Arthur Smith
To be fair, the Falcons dealt with a number of issues on offense. They traded Julio Jones before the year began. Star wide receiver Calvin Ridley only played in five games as he dealt with some personal struggles, and reportedly could be looking for a trade out of Atlanta.
For Ryan, it appears as though he’ll get another year under center with the Falcons. On the bright side, he’ll still have the freakish tight end/wide receiver Kyle Pitts to throw to and with a full offseason, he should only be able to further develop the chemistry they’ve already shown. Pitts has become just the second rookie tight end with a 1,000-yard season, with Mike Ditka being the first.
No matter what happens, the Falcons hope to improve on their record from this season, in which they are currently 7-9, with one more game to go today.
