QB Matt Ryan joins CBS as analyst, says he’s not retiring

CBS announced Monday that Ryan, a four-time Pro Bowler and the 2016 NFL MVP with the Atlanta Falcons, will serve as a studio and game analyst across multiple platforms for the upcoming season.

“Excited to join the @NFLonCBS family! Looking forward to breaking down the game this season,” Ryan wrote on his Twitter account.

But, he added, “P.S. — this is not a retirement post.”

The 37-year-old Ryan is coming off a disappointing season with the Indianapolis Colts, who acquired him in a trade last year after he spent 14 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons.

Ryan was twice benched by the Colts and finished the season as the third-string quarterback. He was released in March in a move that saved Indianapolis about $17.2 million in salary cap space for 2023.

After going two months without landing with another team, Ryan decided to give broadcasting a try.

“It is truly an honor to join this exceptional team at CBS Sports,” he said in a statement released by CBS. “I have been blessed to have incredible teammates throughout my career and I am fortunate that will continue here working with and learning from the very best in the industry.”

Ryan is one of the most prolific quarterbacks in NFL history, spending nearly all of his 15-year career with the Falcons.

He guided Atlanta to six playoff appearances, three division titles and won the MVP award in 2016 as the Falcons reached the Super Bowl for only the second time in franchise history. They held a 28-3 lead over New England late in the third quarter of the title game, only to have Tom Brady direct a stunning comeback that ended with the Patriots winning 34-28 in overtime.

Ryan and the Falcons never seemed to recover from that disappointment. They made the playoffs the following year but lost at Philadelphia in the divisional round, then went 25-40 over his final four seasons in Atlanta.

With the Falcons in rebuilding mode and needing to shed a huge amount of money under the cap, Ryan was dealt to the Colts for a third-round draft pick.

The Colts had hoped he would be the quarterback who could lead the team to the Super Bowl, but he was benched by coach Frank Reich, regained the starting job after Reich was fired, only to be benched against by interim coach Jeff Saturday after Indy squandered a 33-0 halftime lead in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

He started 12 games for the Colts, completing 67% of his passes for 3,057 yards with 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Indianapolis went 4-7-1 with Ryan as the starter and finished 4-12-1.

Over his career, Ryan ranks among the top 10 in NFL history in passing yards (62,792), touchdowns (381), completions (5,551) and attempts (8,464).

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who is working on his return to the field after having gone into cardiac arrest during a game in January, has been selected as the winner of the 2023 George Halas Award.

The Professional Football Writers of America announced the 55th winner of the award, which is given to an NFL player, coach or staff member who overcomes adversity to succeed.

Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during a nationally televised game on Jan. 2 after making a tackle on a Cincinnati Bengals receiver. He got up but collapsed and had to be resuscitated on the field.

The NFL is taking another big step into streaming by putting one of its playoff games exclusively on a digital platform for the first time.

The league and NBCUniversal announced that the Saturday night game on Wild Card weekend will be on Peacock. It will be preceded by a late afternoon playoff game on NBC and Peacock that will kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET.

The Peacock game will also be broadcast on NBC stations in the markets of the two teams.

The Chicago Bears have signed first-round draft pick Darnell Wright to his rookie contract.

The Bears chose the Tennessee offensive tackle with the No. 10 overall pick in the NFL draft late last month to give quarterback Justin Fields more protection.

Wright played a big role in Tennessee going 11-2 and finishing sixth in the final AP Top 25 poll.

Chicago also signed South Carolina defensive tackle Zacch Pickens and Cincinnati wide receiver Tyler Scott to their rookie deals.

Chicago has seven of its 10 draft picks under contract.

The New Orleans Saints have been in talks with franchise all-time sack leader Cameron Jordan about a multi-year extension and have signed veteran receiver James Washington.

Jordan’s agent, Doug Hendrickson of Wasserman, tells The Associated Press he has discussed an extension of at least two years with New Orleans and aims to have a deal completed before training camp.

Jordan’s team-high 8 1/2 sacks last season gave him 115 1/2 for his career, eclipsing Hall of Famer Ricky Jackson’s 115 with the club.

Washington had a broken foot that sidelined him for all but two games with Dallas last season.