WATCH: Matt Ryan gets embarrassed by ‘28-3’ remark by CBS announcer Andrew Catalon on broadcasting debut
Matt Ryan is beginning a new era in life, but even then, he cannot run away from his past.
On Sunday, the former NFL MVP with the Atlanta Falcons made his broadcasting debut with CBS, calling the Minnesota Vikings-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game with Andrew Catalon and former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber.
Just as halftime ended, Catalon made a joke about the Falcons' Super Bowl LI loss, taking Ryan off guard:
“We were just chomping some burgers at halftime, saying this game feels like it should be 28–3 in favor of Minnesota.”
Ryan discussed the loss many times in his career, but even in his new job, it seems that he will have to discuss it again, however hard he tries to forget it.
Will Matt Ryan play again?
The 2022-23 season was nothing less than a disaster for Matt Ryan. After being traded to the Indianapolis Colts, he struggled a lot, throwing a career-low 14 touchdowns and suffering a career-high 15 fumbles (five of them lost).
He also led the Colts to the biggest blown lead in NFL history - 33 points in December against the Minnesota Vikings, who would win their encounter 39-36 in overtime. After that game, he was demoted to third-string behind Nick Foles and Sam Ehlinger, then released with one year remaining in his contract.
Two months after he was cut, Ryan was hired by CBS as analyst. Usually, becoming an analyst means a player is now retired, but that is apparently not the case for the Falcons legend, as he told SiriusXM NFL Radio:
"I've just learned, at least during my experience in the 15 years I've played, to just not shut any doors. That's really the decision behind that. ... I'm excited to kind of take this next step and to move forward, but at the same time, you never know what's going to happen in this league. Anything could shake out, and so we'll see what happens.
But at 38 and with plenty of mileage on him, Ryan will have a hard time convincing any teams to sign him, especially with his respective former teams seemingly committed to youngsters Desmond Ridder and Anthony Richardson.