Following a disappointing Week 3 performance against the Panthers, many fans questioned whether Michael Penix Jr. should remain the starting QB. However, head coach Raheem Morris dismissed the idea of turning back to Kirk Cousins—an approach that Matt Ryan also supports.

“What kind of competition do you think is going to happen at practice this week?” Ryan said The Inner Circle podcast about Cousins. “He had his opportunity. He played last year and showcased what he did. He had his chance. When you’re playing games with your quarterback position after you drafted somebody top 10 overall, you got a great chance of screwing this up six starts into it when you start playing games like that… You don’t overreact to one horrible loss.”

Will the Falcons bench Michael Penix Jr. for Kirk Cousins?

No, the Falcons will not bench Michael Penix Jr. to give the offense back to Kirk Cousins. On Sunday, Raheem Morris made it clear that the veteran lost his job and won’t get it back under any circumstance.

It’s evident that Atlanta has moved on from Cousins, even though they’re still paying him a hefty salary. The team is looking to trade him, but they’re demanding a “premium” draft pick in return—a price that may be too high for interested clubs.

While Cousins did play the final snaps of the Week 3 game, Morris explained it was only to protect Penix Jr. from injury. The veteran has gone from being a top-tier quarterback to someone who only takes the field when the starter needs to be protected.

Matt Ryan’s words carry weight. While the Falcons should remain committed to Penix Jr., Morris’ comments could create unnecessary tension in the locker room—something the head coach must work to prevent.

There’s no doubt that Tom Brady is one of the greatest football players of all time, if not the greatest. With seven Super Bowl rings to his name, he cemented his legacy as an elite quarterback and an icon of the sport.

But as with all careers, even the greatest must eventually come to an end. Brady retired in 2023 after briefly returning from his first retirement in 2022. Despite his departure, fans continue to hope for one more run from the GOAT.

Matt Ryan reveals what he thinks about a Brady return

Tom Brady has nothing left to prove. When critics argued he was only successful because of Bill Belichick, he left the Patriots and won another Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—silencing the doubters once again.

His greatness wasn’t just built on talent, but also on work ethic, leadership, and an unmatched competitive drive. However, like all athletes, he eventually had to walk away—choosing to retire while still relatively healthy.

His 2023 retirement marked the end of an era, but because of his previous return, some fans still believe a second comeback could happen. That door hasn’t fully closed for everyone—especially not for former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.

Ryan recently said he believes Brady could still play if he really wanted to. While he didn’t confirm any plans for a comeback, his comments have certainly reignited fan speculation.

“I think he could,” Matt Ryan said on Tom Brady’s chance of playing in the NFL currently, via the Dan Patrick Show. “I mean, I think the way he takes care of himself, he looks more fit now than he’s ever been. And I think the style with which he played leads to being able to play longer. Not moving around, not having to run and do all those different things. Because he can still throw it, he could still spin it at the end.”

How old is Tom Brady?

At 47 years old—and turning 48 in less than a month—a Brady comeback seems highly unlikely. While he may still be in excellent physical shape, competing at quarterback in today’s NFL at that age would be extremely difficult.

Brady has teased the idea of returning a few times, though mostly in a joking manner. For now, he appears content in retirement, analyzing games for FOX Sports and enjoying life off the field.

Last year, the Falcons made a blockbuster move by acquiring Kirk Cousins. The club was in need of a veteran quarterback, and the former Vikings player was the best option available in free agency.

However, a few weeks later the NFC South team shocked many by acquiring another quarterback. In the 2024 NFL Draft, the Falcons used their first-round pick to select Michael Penix Jr., a decision that didn’t sit well with Kirk Cousins.

Falcons add a new veteran quarterback to be Michael Penix Jr.’s mentor in 2025

When the Falcons announced the arrival of Kirk Cousins, many fans believed they would wait longer before drafting a new quarterback. Nevertheless, it only took a couple of weeks for them to act, drafting Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in 2024.

No one expected the Falcons to use their first-round pick on a quarterback after signing Kirk Cousins. According to reports, the veteran was not comfortable with this decision, interpreting it as a clear message that the front office didn’t trust him to be the starter beyond one or two years.

Cousins did not have a great debut season and was even benched at the end of the campaign. Now, rumors swirl that the club may move on from him this offseason, and it appears they have already taken the first step in that direction.

Head coach Raheem Morris told Cameron Wolfe that the Falcons are bringing back Matt Ryan to mentor Michael Penix Jr. for the 2025 season. His exact role has not been specified—he may only serve as a coach rather than as a backup for the young quarterback.

This decision is being seen as a direct message to Kirk Cousins regarding his future with the club. With him on the roster, there would be no need to bring in Matt Ryan or other veterans, which is why many fans believe that Cousins will not continue with the Falcons this year.

Can the Falcons trade Kirk Cousins?

Kirk Cousins’ future remains very uncertain. While the Falcons are reportedly moving on from him in favor of Michael Penix Jr. as their starter, the veteran is still under contract with the club and has a no-trade clause that complicates matters.

However, reports indicate that Cousins may waive his no-trade clause, though it is unclear when that might occur. Rumors suggest it could be after the 2025 NFL Draft, a scenario that would put the Falcons in a difficult spot since they intend to trade him before the event to acquire additional draft stock.

The struggles of Doug Pederson’s squad can be attributed to many factors, particularly the underwhelming performance of former Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence. On this matter, none other than former Atlanta Falcons player Matt Ryan weighed in on the current situation of the franchise’s most important player.

In a segment on CBS Sports following the loss to the Houston Texans, the former MVP made his stance clear: “Outside of all of the other things he is dealing with, the arrows that you take during the week in the media. The football side of it, he has been inaccurate, right,“

“He has been inaccurate between 5 and 20 yards down the field. That is really where your bread is buttered as a quarterback. You have to hit in the intermediate passing game. To me it doesn’t look mechanical. It looks like a confidence issue. He is clearly slumping coach.”, Ryan finally concluded.

Specifically addressing the loss to the Texans, Ryan emphasized: “You need to be at your best as a quarterback in the fourth quarter. But when you have a guy that is slumping, he also needs some layups. First quarter, second quarter, you need to build some kind of continuity. And at the end of the day, it is on him. He has to look in the mirror and he has to get better.”

Bill Belichick also highlighted the Jaguars’ deficiencies

The poor start for the Jacksonville Jaguars, particularly the underwhelming performance of their QB Trevor Lawrence, has sparked a range of opinions across the NFL. An authoritative voice on the matter is the former Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who also pointed out the team’s and QB’s deficiencies.

“…they’re gonna have to be better in every area. Not just the quarterback, but the running game, defensively, situational football. I think the big thing for them is not to lose confidence, and not to feel like things are over because there’s still a long way to go. Four losses is not gonna eliminate anybody from the playoffs, but [they] need to start winning soon.“, Belichick stated.

Since Peyton Manning left the Colts, the team has struggled to find a suitable replacement for the legendary quarterback. Of course this was a difficult task, but the team had high hopes for Matt Ryan when he joined the team last year.

Unfortunately, Ryan did not live up to expectations in his first season and was ultimately replaced by Sam Ehlinger as the starting quarterback. Now, the Colts have told him what they’ll do with him in 2023.

Colts inform Matt Ryan about their plans for the 2023 season

The Indianapolis Colts are trying to rebuild for the upcoming campaign. They have struggled to compete in the AFC South, but they are working really hard to turn things the other way this year.

Unfortunately, Matt Ryan won’t be part of this reconstruction. The Colts have released the veteran quarterback, so he’s set to become a free agent to sign with any team that is interested in his services.

The 37-year-old quarterback played 12 games with Indianapolis (4-7-1). He threw for 3,057 yards, 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, with a QB rating of 43.1, the lowest of his entire career.

Fans have witnessed how many signal-callers have come and gone in the league, even if they created a lot of expectations at some point. When things don’t work out in the NFL, patience doesn’t last long.

Zach Wilson is already feeling the heat after a lackluster start to life with the New York Jets, and it’s fair to wonder whether he’ll be a starter next season. He could be among the most renowned QBs to be on the bench in 2023.

4. Zach Wilson

The Jets selected Zach Wilson with the second-overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, but the truth is that he never lived up to his reputation. Only two years in the league, the young quarterback is no longer the franchise’s hope.

Wilson, who had already lost the job to 2018 fifth-rounder Mike White, is being booed and his team is nearly out of the playoffs. His chances of being the Jets starting QB in 2023 look pretty much close to zero, and it doesn’t look like another team will bet on him.

3. Baker Mayfield

Baker Mayfield’s career went downhill in the blink of an eye. The Browns suddenly decided to dump him in favor of Deshaun Watson after a bad season, and it’s been hard for him to get back on his feet since then.

Mayfield started to bounce around in the NFL in 2022, being cut by the Panthers after an underwhelming start to the season. He landed in the Rams to fill in the vacancy left by Matthew Stafford’s injury, but looks set to hit the free agency again in 2023. Will any team try its luck with Mayfield as QB1 next year?

2. Matt Ryan

After 14 incredible seasons in Atlanta, Matt Ryan’s trade to the Colts went terribly bad. The veteran quarterback never looked like his true self in Indianapolis, losing his job only a few weeks into the 2022 season.

Ryan, 37, is still under contract for 2023, but it’s hard to believe he’ll stay with the Colts for another year. He may not hang them up yet, but there don’t seem to be many openings for him to be a starter in the future.

1. Carson Wentz

Another first round pick that eventually went wrong, everyone wonders what could have been of Carson Wentz if injuries hadn’t caught up to him. However, the what ifs don’t matter much when it comes to choosing a dependable quarterback.

Everyone may remember how great Wentz was in his first seasons in Philadelphia, but those years look far behind him. Washington gave him another chance after he struggled with the Colts, but his level left a lot to be desired. Wentz is under contract through 2024, but the Commanders seem to have given up on him.

Ryan’s two best seasons with Atlanta were in 2010 and 2012 with 13 wins and only three losses in each season. In 14 seasons with the franchise, Ryan and the Falcons played in six postseasons, most notably in 2016 when they lost the Super Bowl to Tom Brady and the Patriots.

Ryan’s last winning season with the Falcons was in 2017 with 10-6 overall, after that the last four years were negative for him, that was one of the reasons for his trade to the Colts, besides Ryan is already 37 years old age.

What is the losing record that Matt Ryan could set?

Ryan can become the only quarterback to lose against 31 different teams in NFL history, this would be the opposite of what other quarterbacks like Tom Brady have achieved (won against every single team).

Only two teams must defeat Ryan in the 2022 season, one is the Jaguars and the other franchise is the Las Vegas Raiders. He never lost to any of those teams while playing for Atlanta. On September 18 the Colts play the first of two games against the Jaguars, the next game will be on October 16. On November 13 the Colts play the Raiders on the road.

But Ryan could also set a stronger record not with 31 losses but 32 as there’s a remote chance the Colts will play the Falcons in the upcoming 2023 Super Bowl, but that’s unlikely.

Other quarterbacks also lost to 30 different franchises but they can no longer set new losing records as they are all retired, like Drew Brees.

Ryan spent 13 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, where he was an outstanding player but was never able to culminate his work with the first Super Bowl in the history of the franchise born in 1966. Even so, he had memorable years such as 2016 when he was the league’s passer rating leader as well as the offensive player of the season.

For his part, Frank Reich has already expressed his desire to build on the past by bringing in Carson Wentz, who was on the Philadelphia Eagles squad that won the franchise’s first Super Bowl by defeating Tom Brady’s New England Patriots last season. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out and Wentz was used as a bargaining chip with the Washington Commanders during the 2022 NFL Draft.

Matt Ryan’s replacement at the Colts that Reich is looking for in the past

The current Indianapolis head coach was Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator in their historic 2017 season, when they won the NFL crown. Undoubtedly, and so far, it is the zenith of his career. He already tried to solve the Colts’ problems with Carson Wentz and now he would be betting on doing it with the quarter back that made him so happy with the Eagles.

So, according to The Athletic, the 37-year-old Ryan back up that the Indianapolis Colts would be looking for at Reich’s express request is Nick Foles. The 1989-born quarter back is currently a free agent after being released by the Chicago Bears following two seasons in which he was never able to shine as he did during his time in Philadelphia.

Perhaps Reich’s gamble will be to repeat the 2017 formula with the Eagles in which Foles was the team’s love interest after having to replace Carson Wentz, who that season suffered an ACL injury in Week 14 in a game against the Los Angeles Rams. The outcome of that story is already known: the Austin, Texas native was awarded the MVP of Super Bowl LII.

Carson Wentz was the starting quarterback of the Colts before the arrival of Matt Ryan, his last season with the franchise was pretty good, he posted 322/516 passes, 62.4%, 3563 passing yards, 6.9 yards per attempt and 27 touchdowns with only 7 interceptions.

The future with Ryan is uncertain, he is a veteran but still needs to prove his talent with the Colts’ offensive line, it is also likely that the new drafted players will become key pieces during the regular season.

Colts opponents for the upcoming 2022 NFL season

The official schedule of the Colts will be ready on May 12, 2022, but the list of opponents is available, they will play against 8 teams at home. One of those home games can be considered tough for them against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Colts’ record playing at home was negative during the 2021 season, they lost four of nine games going 4-5 at home. The last home game was a loss on January 2, 2022 against the Las Vegas Raiders 23-20.

According to NFL insiders Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo, and Tom Pelissero, Atlanta has agreed to trade Ryanto theColts for a third-round pick. Indianapolis gets to replace Carson Wentz, while the Falcons can starta new era.

Ryan, who turns 37 in May, has been in Atlanta for 14 years after being selected with the third overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft. The 2016 MVP now begins a new challenge and social media went wild.

Matt Ryan traded from Falcons to Colts: Best memes and reactions

Following the Russell Wilson or Deshaun Watson moves, the quarterback carousel now sees Ryan finding a new home after 14 seasons. Bayker Mayfield, who was linked to the Colts, might find in Atlanta his next destination. Check out how NFL Twitter reacted to the trade:

But that’s what many people in Atlanta are wondering with their sights set on the 2022 NFL season. Will Ryancontinue behind center? Or will the Falcons decide thatit’s time to move on?

Some interesting options at quarterback are expected to beon the market this offseason. However, if we had to guess what the Falcons will do, Arthur Blank‘s latest comments suggestthat the team isn’t ready to part ways with its 2008 third overall pick.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank suggests Matt Ryan would continue in Atlanta

14 seasons of playing football in the NFL is a lot for any player, let alone if all of those years have been with the same team. And Father Time eventually knocks everyone’s door. Ryan turns 37 in May, so many wonder for how long he’ll be a Falcon.

“At some point, there will be a sunset for him,but exactly when that is I really can’t tell you because I really don’t know,“Arthur Blank told the Falcons’ official website (AtlantaFalcons.com). The team owner seems to believe there’s still a lot left in the quarterback’s tank, although he’s aware thatRyan won’t play forever. “At some point, it will become clear that (the Falcons) need to move forward,” he said.

However, that time mayhave not come yet. “(Ryan) loves the game. He loves the Falcons. He loves the city and he wants to stay here,” Blank said. “That’s a decision the coach and general manager will make. But we have no reason to think he won’t continue to be playing quarterback for us.

“Great franchises have a successful transition from one quarterback to the next. We want to make sure we’re focused on doing the same thing. Coach understands that and so does our general manager.”

It would be fair to say it’s too soon to tell what will happen, but the owner’s words are pretty clear. Even though he said the decision is not up to him, Blank has already said what he thinks about the situation. So, unless the coach and GM beg to differ and he’s fine with it, we can prepare ourselves to see Ryan in a Falcons uniform again next season.