The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Retirement
NFL draft, is the winningest quarterback in franchise history, holds most of the passing records and took the team to the playoffs a record six times. He is one of two quarterbacks — along with Chris Chandler after the 1998 season — to take the team to the Super Bowl.
Ryan had a 14-year run with the Falcons, until he was traded to the Colts for a third-round pick in the 2022 offseason. He played one season for the Colts. After being released by Indianapolis, which owed him $12 million for the 2023 season, Ryan did not immediately retire because he hoped another team would call him.
“I had multiple conversations, but nothing that I wanted to do,” Ryan said. The Jets elected not to enter the veteran free agent quarterback market after Aaron Rodgers was injured. The Browns played five different quarterbacks and turned to Joe Flacco, who was drafted the same year as Ryan, late in the season. Flacco helped the Browns reach the playoffs.
In 2016, Ryan became the only player in Falcons franchise history to win the NFL Most Valuable Player award, after guiding the team to Super Bowl LI, where the Falcons blew a 28-3 lead, losing to the Patriots.
“It hurts,” Ryan said of the Super Bowl loss. “I think that’s one of the things that’s always a part of you. That falling short of what you ultimately set out to do. But that’s life.”
Ryan was an immediate starter for the Falcons after being drafted from Boston College. He helped guide the team to the playoffs as a rookie, the first of four playoff appearances in his first six seasons.
Ryan reflected on his first pass in the NFL, which went for a 62-yard touchdown to Michael Jenkins. He began his career under quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave.
“He helped me so much in terms of time management,” Ryan said. “I have this acronym that I live by since then, and it’s TSVR, and Bill is the one who taught me it. Time
Spent, Value Received. It was an incredible, valuable lesson at an early age. Let’s invest our time in stuff that is going to impact us playing well.”
Over 14 seasons with the Falcons, Ryan completed 5,242 of 8,003 pass attempts for 59,735 yards and 367 touchdowns — all franchise records. He also holds franchise records for career passer rating (94.2), career completion percentage (65.5) and career 300yard passing games (73).
After being traded to the Colts, Ryan kept his Atlanta
home and continued his social action here.
“It’s always disappointing at first,” Ryan told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an exclusive interview after the trade. “That’s a very human reaction. But as you go through it, you understand that those things can happen. When they do, it’s about how you respond and how you react.”
Ryan came to the Falcons at a critical time, a year after Pro Bowl quarterback Michael Vick went to prison on federal dog-fighting charges and coach Bobby Petrino quit with three games left in the 2007 season. Ryan, leaning on a 2,000-yard rushing attack led by running backs Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood, came in and won games immediately. He also became a pillar of the community through his charity work.
Ryan turned into the most prolific passer in team history, shattering all of Steve Bartkowski’s passing marks. Ryan led the franchise to its first back-to-back winning seasons in 2008 and 2009.
After the last trip to the playoffs, because of some poor drafting from 2017-20, the Falcons have fallen on hard times. They have not had a winning season since 2017.
As they started to slip back into the lower reaches of the NFC, some fans bashed Ryan.
“You have a ton of people who love Matt and some who don’t; I don’t know why or for whatever reason,” said former Falcons wide receiver Harry Douglas, who also was drafted by the Falcons in 2008. “But we have to give him his respect because his respect is due. He’s been so great for this organization. It’s funny how quickly we forget what somebody meant to us . ... Let’s not bash this man who for 14 years gave you everything that he had on that football field.”