Dimitroff: No timetable on Ryan deal

ATHENS — The Falcons appear to have hit a snag while hashing out a lucrative contract extension for quarterback Matt Ryan.

“I couldn’t even put a (timetable on it). I don’t know how close we are,” Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said on Wednesday. “I can’t. We talk about it and it seems like things are right around the corner.”

The free-agency quarterback market has settled, clearing the path for a Ryan deal.

If Jimmy Garoppolo is worth $27.5 million per year and Kirk Cousins is worth $28 million per year, then what is Ryan worth?

“A new contract for (Green Bay’s Aaron) Rodgers is on the horizon this offseason,” wrote CBS Sports business analysis Joel Corry, a former agent. “At the very least, (Minnesota’s Kirk) Cousins has given Rodgers and Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who is entering his contract year, the ammunition to become charter members of the $30-million-per-year club. The Jets reportedly made Cousins a $30-million-per-year offer.”

Ryan is a former league MVP winner who’s been to the playoff six times and has one Super Bowl appearance. Garoppolo was on New England’s Super Bowl team from the 2016 season; Cousins took the Redskins to the 2015 NFC East title and a playoff loss to the Packers.

So, while the Falcons hammer out Ryan’s market value, they’ll sit up against the cap. They’ll get $3.5 million relief from Levine Toilolo’s contract, as he was released with a post-June 1 designation.

The big deal for the Falcons was Drew Brees re-signing with the Saints reportedly a two-year, $50 million deal. Now, his agent Tom Condon, who also represents Ryan, can finish his dealings with the franchise.

Both sides talked back at the NFL combine and it was expected to be a short negotiation that could end with a six-year extension in the $180 million range for Ryan, who’s arguably the best quarterback in franchise history.

“I understand that there is no real rush on it right now,” Dimitroff said. “It’s not like we are worried about free agency. The only rush on it is getting everyone comfortable so that we can continue to focus on the upcoming season.”

Not getting Ryan’s deal done had kept the Falcons out of the free agency market. But the team contends that they don’t have any major holes that they wanted to fill in free agency.