According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Atlanta Falcons have reportedly reached a six-year deal worth a maximum value of $72 million, which also includes $34.75 million in guarantees.
Ryan spent minicamp two weeks ago working behind starter Chris Redman and backup Joey Harrington. D.J. Shockley was limited because he is recovering from knee surgery.
Coach Mike Smith has not ruled out Ryan starting from Day 1. How Ryan performs in training camp and preseason likely will factor into the decision. Helping Ryan’s cause is that he won’t miss any practices in a contract dispute, allowing him to be on relatively equal footing with the other quarterbacks on the team.
There are two schools of thought on whether or not Ryan should start for the Falcons in Week 1. On one hand, the Falcons don’t have enough talent (especially on the offensive line) for Ryan to realistically find much success this year, so why get the young man killed and possibly ruin his confidence ala the Lions and Joey Harrington?
However, out of all the quarterbacks in this year’s draft class, Ryan was the only one that pundits claimed was “NFL ready” now. So, why not get him experience this year and let him cut his teeth on the field? Knowing how most teams handle rookie quarterbacks, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Atlanta go with Chris Redman to start the season, but it’s almost a guarantee it will go with Ryan if/when they struggle out the gate. I’ll set the over/under on Ryan starting at Week 6 and give me the under.
