Matt Ryan Says He'd Likely Still Be With Falcons If It Weren't For Pursuit Of Deshaun Watson

Veteran quarterback Matt Ryan would likely still be with the Atlanta Falcons had the Falcons not tried to trade for Deshaun Watson.

"Pretty good chance," Ryan said on the Ryen Russillo podcast.

Instead, Ryan was traded to the Indianapolis Colts, and Watson was traded from the Houston Texans to the Cleveland Browns. And now, Atlanta has neither.

Ryan said the Falcons informed him they were looking to trade for Watson. And that was about the time he decided he should be elsewhere for the start of next season.

"When free agency starts to pick up and they start to look into what they want to do, I kind of got filled into the loop that they were going to look into Deshaun Watson,” Ryan said. “And then at that point, I said, OK, I understand. But I also need to look into what I need to look into. And if this doesn’t go down, find out if this is probably still the best fit for me."

Ryan, 36, has only played for the Falcons since entering the NFL in 2008. He has started all 222 games in which he's appeared. That includes all 17 last season and all 16 the year before that. He also of course led the Falcons to Super Bowl LI in 2016, when they of course blew a 28-3 lead in falling to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

But it's time for a new chapter for Ryan, who is now on the back nine of his career. It is a fresh start in a fresh place.