The Falcons opened the preseason by playing in the Hall of Fame Game this year, but the extra game didn’t lead to extra playing time for quarterback Matt Ryan.
Ryan sat out both the Hall of Fame Game and last week’s game against the Dolphins, but he’s set to make his first game appearance of the summer. Head coach Dan Quinn said that the plan is for Ryan to start against the Jets on Thursday night and that he’ll definitely play at least one full series before heading back to the bench.
“We don’t do a play number because you can have a lot of plays and it’s a quarter and a half and not many and then you go all the way to the half,” Quinn said, via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s usually by feel. . . . I generally don’t tell the guys how long they are going to go. I’d rather they just get ready to play. Then, [I tell them] ‘you’re out’ and they get mad at me.”
With Ryan in the game, the Falcons will also use their starters on the offensive line. Quinn was less emphatic about running back Devonta Freeman playing for the first time this summer, but there’s also a chance he’ll be in the lineup for the first time since Week Five of last season.