Matt Ryan calls last 18 months a ‘s–t show,’ not ruling out return to NFL for Year 16

NFL quarterback Matt Ryan is beginning a new career this season as a studio and game analyst for CBS Sports. He will call select NFL on CBS games and appear on programs such as “The NFL Today,” “That Other Pregame Show (TOPS),” “NFL Monday QB,” and CBS Sports HQ. However, it’s possible he hasn’t hung up the cleats for good.

In a recent interview with The Athletic, the 38-year-old said that he’s staying in shape and keeping his options open if a team were to need a quarterback in 2023. 

“I’m staying in shape. I think it is kind of, ‘You know my number. You know where I’m at,'” Ryan said. “If anything were to come up, you know, we’ll see. (CBS) is where my focus is at right now. But we’ll see how the season shakes out.”

Ryan, who won NFL MVP back in 2016, had a rough 2022 campaign. Really, he had a rough 18 months, as he was traded from the Atlanta Falcons to the Indianapolis Colts after 14 seasons in the ATL. 

“I mean, it was a shit show, you know, it was a shit show of 18 months basically is the best way to describe it,” Ryan said. “But I think everybody in our family handled it well and came out of it stronger and in a really good spot.”

Ryan went 3-3-1 as the starter to begin last season, and was benched following a Week 7 loss to the Tennessee Titans. Following head coach Frank Reich’s firing, interim head coach Jeff Saturday brought Ryan back as the starter for Week 10. While Ryan won his first game back against the Las Vegas Raiders after throwing a game-winning touchdown to Parris Campbell, the Colts then lost four straight games — including a historic collapse against the Minnesota Vikings, where Indy blew a 33-0 halftime lead to lose 39-36. It was the largest collapse in NFL history, and afterwards, Ryan returned to the bench for the remainder of the season.

While things did not go well for Ryan in Indianapolis, it’s clear that he has not completely closed the door on football. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft currently ranks inside the top 10 all-time in passing yards (62,792), touchdowns (381), completions (5,551) and attempts (8,464).