One season after leaving the Atlanta Falcons Matt Ryan is stepping away from the game and into the booth joining the CBS broadcast team. Ryan made it clear when making the move that this was not a retirement but simply a sidestep whether or not Ryan is opening to non-starting jobs isn't clear.
While Ryan left the door open to playing at least for now the quarterback will step away and perhaps have a chance to play a role for the Falcons once again. With the networks no longer dividing games by conference the Falcons will be playing on CBS far more often during the course of the 2023 season.
Atlanta having a large portion of games with the network appeared to be a step back until the most recent news now opens the door for Ryan to call Atlanta's games. It is clear the Falcons are moving on from Ryan and barring an injury to Ridder or complete failure if Ryan gets another chance to start it won't be in Atlanta.
However, having Matt call Atlanta's games and give an inside perspective would be a unique and exciting broadcast. Ryan spent one season with Arthur Smith and Terry Fontenot and is familiar with the roster and system despite the major changes Atlanta has made.
Getting Ryan's thoughts on everything from predicting the offense to how his time ended in Atlanta should be fascinating. Having Ryan call parts of Ridder's first season as a starter would be a bit full circle as well as getting a franchise quarterback's perspective on what he does or doesn't see from the first-year starter.
It is very possible that this is the end of Ryan's career in the league and there is a clear possibility that Ryan is now often a part of Atlanta's games once again.