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Many people sensed that Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan would be on the move this offseason. But according to ESPN NFL Insider Chris Mortensen, if there's one place he's not headed to, it's the "Steel City."
Mortensen took to Twitter to dismiss rumors of Atlanta's one-time All-Pro quarterback replacing the outgoing Ben Roethlisberger at the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Mortensen went on to state that Falcons coach Arthur Smith wanted Matt Ryan to return when he took the job in January 2021. Mortensen further suggested that Smith has made it known to team owner Arthur Blank and general manager Terry Fontenot that Ryan will be Atlanta's signal caller for at least one more season.
"Anyone trying to move Matt Ryan to Pittsburgh as Ben Roethlisberger’s successor can put that speculation to rest."
This season, Atlanta finished with a record of 7-10 and ranked third in the NFC South. Matt Ryan finished ninth in the league in passes completed with 375 and 11th in pass attempts with 560.
He also finished with 20 touchdown passes to 12 interceptions along with 3,968 passing yards. The 20 touchdown passes tied him with San Francisco 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo and Washington Football Team QB Taylor Heinicke this year. While his passing yards were good for the 11th most in the NFL.
Ryan's passer rating of 90.4 this season was the lowest since the 2015 season when he ended the year with a 89 passer rating.
A major problem for him was staying upright as he was tied with Las Vegas Raiders QB Derek Carr for the fifth-most sacked player with 40.
The five-time Pro Bowl quarterback had seven games where he threw for under 200 yards, including his season-low of 117 yards in a 43-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. On the other hand, the 2016 league MVP had back-to-back games of 300+ yards passing.
In Week Five versus the New York Jets in London, Ryan had 342 yards passing in a 27-20 victory. The following week on the road against the Miami Dolphins, he had 336 yards as Atlanta won by a score of 30-28.
Matt Ryan’s career in Atlanta
Ryan has played his entire 14-year career for the Falcons. He is the franchise's all-time leader in passing yards (59,735), touchdown passes (367), and completions (5,242).
His passing yards are the third-most among active quarterbacks, trailing Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (84,520) and Roethlisberger (64,088). Overall, Ryan ranks eighth in NFL history in the statistical category.
Since 2018, he has the third-most passing yards in the NFL with 17,937, trailing only Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes (18,707) and Brady (18,361).
The most prolific passer in Atlanta history could end his career with the team he took to Super Bowl LI, and that would be fine with many Falcons fans.
