When Matt Ryan was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in 2022, he held the Atlanta Falcons franchise records for completion percentage, passing yardage, passing touchdowns and game-winning drives, as well as one of the team’s two Super Bowl appearances and its only Most Valuable Award Player under his belt. There was never any doubt that Ryan was headed to the Falcons Ring of Honor after his retirement.

Tonight, the Falcons make the induction official, placing the most prolific passer in franchise history into the most highly regarded inner circle of Atlanta greats. Ryan will join owner Arthur Blank, who was inducted earlier this year, as well as all-timers such as Jessie Tuggle, Roddy White and Deion Sanders.

After the team selected him third overall in the 2008 NFL Draft and immediately named him the starter, Ryan’s Falcons rattled off five consecutive winning seasons and four playoff berths during that span, including an NFC Conference Championship run in 2012. After two down years for Ryan and the team, Kyle Shanahan came to town and revitalized the passing attack after a rough 2015, with an MVP season in 2016, followed by a playoff year in 2017 and another great season in 2018.

Working with Falcons greats like Michael Turner and Roddy White early in his career and Julio Jones later, Ryan led this passing attack to heights we as fans had never seen and we pray we see them someday soon with Kirk Cousins ​​and Michael Penix. Underappreciated by fans and analysts for much of his career (at least until 2016), Ryan quietly excelled, winning more games at the helm of the offense than any quarterback who came before him could dream of. If the end of his career was disheartening and the lack of a Super Bowl win will likely always haunt him the way it haunts us, it’s impossible to deny the regular season success, postseason success and relevance of the franchise that Ryan brought changed everything.

Ryan then stuck around for the first year of the Arthur Smith era before the Falcons made the foolish decision to pursue a Deshaun Watson trade, which directly led to Ryan being shipped to the Colts. He finished a tough season there and then retired. When he hung up his cleats, he was 7th in NFL history in passing yardage, 9th in touchdowns and 19th in passer rating, with the fourth-highest fourth-quarter comeback rate ever. Whether Ryan will end up in the Hall of Fame is anyone’s guess, but his place as a Falcons and NFL great is still quite secure. The fact that he has been and continues to be active in the Atlanta community and spends time and money supporting charities in the city as he embarks on his second career in broadcasting is just another point in Ryan’s favor.

Congratulations to Matt Ryan, who takes his deserved place alongside the Falcons greats of old, and who will likely become more appreciated for that greatness every year.