When Matt Ryan was unveiled as CBS' latest acquisition, it appeared the curtain had been drawn on a fine 15-year NFL career, but the 2016 MVP was quick to insist he had not yet retired.
"This is not a retirement post," he wrote on Twitter, raising a question: Why jump into broadcasting if you still want to play?
The answer is Ryan would be open-minded to prolonging his NFL career, but only in an ideal situation with "all the stars" aligned, and it is hard to blame him after spending last season with the 4-12 Indianapolis Colts, taking a beating in the backfield before he lost the starting job less than two months into the campaign.
Ryan looked a shadow of himself in his ill-fated stint with the Colts, unable to climb through the pocket and drive the ball downfield as his body and the ever-increasing speed of the game caught up with him at the age of 37.
But he still feels like he has something to give in the right situation.
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“I’ve just learned, at least during my experience in the 15 years I’ve played, to just not shut any doors,” Ryan told SiriusXM.
“That’s really the decision behind that. Like I said, 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 can shake out, and so, we’ll see what happens.”
What the right situation would be for Ryan remains to be seen. Based on the evidence of last season, there are very few offenses in the modern NFL that he could step into and operate efficiently at short notice, but he would offer veteran poise to a team caught in an injury crisis.
Ryan is the latest quarterback to step into the world of broadcasting, following the NBC's Drew Brees and CBS stablemate Tony Romo into the booth.
Matt Ryan was one of the NFL's best quarterbacks at his peak with the Atlanta Falcons, but he was a shadow of himself last season. (USA Today Sports)Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, meanwhile, is set to begin his TV career with Fox in 2024, delaying his $375million (£302m) deal by a year to spend more time with his family after retiring in February.
Ryan has been cutting his teeth with CBS since the end of the season and he says he has enjoyed the transition into the next chapter in his career.
"I had the opportunity after the season to go up and get in the studio with the crew on NFL Today, and I had a blast doing it," he said. "I really did. I enjoyed being up there with those guys, getting to talk ball beforehand, talk through the show, get on-air, and talk a little bit. I really enjoyed that aspect of it.
"The opportunity they presented me with for next season, where it's a combination of doing some things and getting in the studio and doing some work there, just to really get a feel for how all of this operates and to learn from so many of the professionals that they have there, it seemed like a good fit, and I'm excited about that.
"And you never know. I've tried to keep all doors open. We all know this league is crazy, and there is a lot of things that can happen in the course of a season. So I'm excited to be with CBS and really excited to do some of this work this fall."
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