NFL rumors have floated the San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers as potential landing spots for former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. Of course, that’s if he elects to leave CBS Sports to play again.
But over Memorial Day weekend, the Las Vegas Raiders have developed into another possibility for Ryan.
BETOnline listed Ryan as having the third-best odds of starting Week 1 for the Raiders. The odds assume Jimmy Garoppolo is not the team’s starting signal caller.
The only quarterbacks with better odds than Ryan are Tom Brady and Brian Hoyer.
Both of those veterans are already involved in the Raiders organization. On May 22, Brady agreed to a deal to become a minority owner for the Raiders. Hoyer is the team’s current backup quarterback.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported on May 27 that there is a clause in Garoppolo’s contract that stipulates that none of his $11.25 million signing bonus will be paid until he passes a physical. Garoppolo failed his physical upon signing with the team because of the foot injury he suffered last season.
According to Florio, until Garoppolo passes a physical, the Raiders can release Garoppolo for any reason related to the added injury clause in his contract. If released, the Raiders won’t owe him anything on his three-year, $72.75 million contract.
As expected, this news sent the NFL rumor mill into full spin. Hence the betting odds for quarterbacks other than Garoppolo starting for the Raiders.
Ryan did not retire when he accepted the job at CBS Sports. But he did imply he won’t sign with just any team to get back in the league.
“All the stars would have to [align],” Ryan said on SiriusXM NFL Radio on May 17. “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.”
First, it will be interesting to see if the Raiders seek a different quarterback before the start of the season. If so, it will then be fascinating to watch if there’s a mutual interest in Ryan coming to Las Vegas.
