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Column: Matt Ryan's extension should be the next big item on the post-draft Falcons' to-do list

The bulk of the Falcons' summer scuttlebutt will revolve around quarterback Matt Ryan and his likely pursuit of a record-breaking contract extension.
Since 2011, Falcons QB Matt Ryan owns supreme annual averages of 4,568 yards passing, 27 touchdowns and a completion rate of 66.8 percent. (Photo: Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

ATLANTA -- Now that the Falcons have concluded the NFL draft, the culminating event to thousands of hours of fall/winter/springtime preparation, it's time to lament the topic which promises to consume the summer months in Atlanta:

The status of Matt Ryan's impending contract extension.

The word 'impending' comes with an air of absolute certainty, since the Falcons undoubtedly have no intentions of letting Ryan walk in unrestricted free agency next March. At the very least, a negotiations impasse would result in a one-year 'franchise' tag offer from the club. Of course, Atlanta presumably wouldn't have much leverage in that situation, given the dearth of developmental options among the backup passers (sorry, Garrett Grayson).

Long-term security would also be in the best interest of Ryan, who turns 33 in May. That's not ancient, by any means; but then again, Ryan only maintains 'spring chicken' status ... when standing next to Drew Brees (39 years old) and Tom Brady (turns 41 in August).

Since 2011, Falcons QB Matt Ryan owns supreme annual averages of 4,568 yards passing, 27 touchdowns and a completion rate of 66.8 percent. (Photo: Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

The Falcons were embroiled in a similarly sophisticated money matter with their franchise linchpin in 2013. On the eve of that training camp (late July), Ryan became one of the rare quarterbacks in history to land a $100 million-plus contract, with a reported guarantee of $59 million over the first three years.

In the ensuing five years, the proverbial pay-bar for quarterbacks has been substantially raised, with San Francisco's Jimmy Garoppolo currently owning the record for total payout (five years, $137.5 million) and Minnesota's Kirk Cousins banking the first fully guaranteed contract in NFL free-agent history—a whopping $84 million over three seasons.

Which brings us to this: Garoppolo and Cousins may have squeezed out record-setting salaries, thanks to fortuitously timed negotiating leverage; but these lucrative deals will likely be surpassed by Ryan and Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers this summer, now that it's their turn on the 'extension' merry-go-round.

"I've always not worried about the business side of it," said Ryan at the Falcons' 2013 press conference, formally announcing the extension. "I really think, as a player, that if you're hung up or you're worried about that, or you spend your time thinking about all of those things, you're taking away from what you should be doing."

Distractions have been sparse in this decade of Falcons football. Since 2011, Ryan is a perfect 7 for 7 in eclipsing the 4,000-yard passing mark; and over the last five seasons, the dependable passer (131 consecutive starts) owns supreme annual averages of 4,568 yards passing, 27 touchdowns and a completion rate of 66.8 percent.

The high-water mark entails Ryan capturing NFL MVP honors for the 2016 campaign, which ended with a heartbreaking defeat to New England in Super Bowl 51.

* * *

According to Spotrac.com, a popular site which tracks NFL salary-cap movements, the Falcons will be blessed with roughly $39.7 million of cap space heading into the 2019 season. However, that figure doesn't account for Ryan's next contract or the socked-away money reserved for linebacker Vic Beasley (15.5 career sacks in 2016), who'll be eligible for a life-changing extension next year.

But back to Ryan. In the NFL universe, the size of his next megadeal qualifies as a first-world problem.

At the same time, it's easy to wonder about the state of the Falcons today, if the franchise had sided with popular opinion leading up to the 2008 draft and selected defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey at No. 3 overall.

In the days leading up to that draft, Ryan and Delaware's Joe Flacco were considered the best of a so-so class of quarterbacking prospects. But was that really enough to prioritize the passers above other blue-chip athletes—such as Darren McFadden, Jonathan Stewart, Branden Albert, Aqib Talib, Chris Johnson—especially since Ryan tossed 19 interceptions as a senior at Boston College?

Dorsey had been a dominant defensive figure at LSU, wreaking havoc against a number of SEC schools rich in offensive-line prospects. In essence, he seemed like the perfect starting block for the Falcons and defensive-minded head coach Mike Smith, even though Atlanta slogged through a forgettable quarterback trio of Joey Harrington, Byron Leftwich and Chris Redman in 2007.

But alas, the Falcons boldly ignore the regional preference of Dorsey and drafted Ryan, a move that has paid off in the form of 40,000-plus passing yards, 265 touchdowns (five rushing), six NFC South titles, one NFC championship and one MVP trophy for the mantle.

Subsequently, had the Falcons gone the Dorsey route in Round 1, neither Chad Henne, Brian Brohm, Dennis Dixon, Josh Johnson nor Josh Booty would have been workable solutions in the 2008 draft, meaning Atlanta probably doesn't earn a wild card in Mike Smith's inaugural season (2008) and as a reward for having a worse record, the Falcons might have been part of an unwanted battle royale to draft Mark Sanchez or Josh Freeman the following spring.

(Even without the Ryan acquisition, Atlanta would never have been in contention for Matthew Stafford in 2009. Detroit certainly earned that plum draft slot with its 0-16 campaign from the previous season.)

And for 2010, the pickings would have been slim again in a Ryan-free world. Unless the Falcons were bad enough to warrant the No. 1 overall pick (Sam Bradford), the prominent quarterbacking prospects would have included Jimmy Clausen, Colt McCoy, Mike Kakfa and Tim Tebow; and of that far-flung foursome, only Tebow produced a playoff victory ... and only McCoy has logged more than 20 NFL starts.

Factoring in this deflating historical perspective, a potentially sticky contract battle with Ryan and superagent Tom Condon suddenly seems like a little slice of heaven.

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