But their pursuit of the contentious quarterback got the ball rolling on Matt Ryan's exit. So says Matt Ryan.
The now-Indianapolis Colts quarterback opened up on his departure from Atlanta in a recent appearance on "The Ryen Russillo Podcast." He said that he started to explore his options when he found out that Atlanta was seeking to secure Watson's services.
"I kind of got filled in to the loop that they were gonna look into Deshaun Watson," Ryan said, per NFL Network. "At that point, I said, OK, I understand, you know, but I also need to look into what I need to look into, and if this doesn't go down find out if this is probably still the best fit for me.