Nobody was quite certain of Matt Ryan’s future in Atlanta this offseason, including Matt Ryan. When the Falcons picked Kyle Pitts at #4, Ryan and his family were thrilled and relieved, per a new writeup from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. The same thing Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith were telling the media and fans—that all options were on the table, including quarterback—was what they were telling #2 all along. We had plenty of indications that’s what was happening, but its still a little remarkable that Ryan found out about his future with the rest of us.
The anecdote illustrates more than one thing, making it simultaneously clear that the Falcons were serious enough about sniffing around quarterbacks that they didn’t assure their franchise guy that he was absolutely the only option, but also that Ryan is not going to wallow in bitterness thinking about how close he might have come to being replaced.