Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff mentioned during an interview with 680 The Fan on Tuesday (per Matt Tabeek) that he believes they’re close to an agreement with QB Matt Ryan on a long-term extension.
“I think we’re close,” Dimitroff said.
Dimitroff added that “it’s not a complicated process” and he’s “not kept up at night and it’s a priority.”
Meanwhile, Falcons owner Arthur Blank tells Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that there is no timetable for getting a deal done with Ryan, but there’s also “no need to worry.”
“The most direct and honest answer is: no need to worry, good conversations are happening, they are positive and there’s no timetable for this,” Blank said in an email to Schultz.
Blank said previously that their goal is to sign Ryan to a contract that both respects his value to the team as well as franchise’s financial situation moving forward.
“I’m not saying the money is not significant, it is significant,” Blank said. “But I think he wants to win championships, he wants to win the Super Bowl. So part of what we have to keep in balance — and Matt has to help us do that — is that we want to sign a contract with Matt that is respectful and competitive with him, but one that positions the team to keep talent around him. … I don’t care who the player is, you can’t win with one player.”
Ryan is two years removed from an MVP season in which he took the Falcons to the Super Bowl and considering that he’s entering the final year of his contract, it makes plenty of sense for Atlanta to be aggressive this offseason in regards to hammering out a long-term deal.
Ryan, 32, is a former first-round pick of the Falcons back in 2008. He’s entering the final year of his six-year, $103.75 million contract that included $59 million guaranteed and stands to make a base salary of $19.25 million for the 2018 season.
Ryan would be an unrestricted free agent in 2019, but it’s highly unlikely he’ll test the open market, even if the two parties are unable to work out an agreement on a long-term deal.
In 2017, Ryan appeared in all 16 games for the Falcons threw for 4,095 yards while completing 64.7 percent of his passes to go along with 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 2 quarterback out of 39 qualifying players.
We’ll have more regarding a new contract for Ryan as the news is available.
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