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Dimitroff: Falcons, Matt Ryan 'close' on new contract

The Atlanta Falcons aren't fretting Matt Ryan's contract extension.

In a Tuesday email to Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, owner Arthur Blank dismissed any concerns but continued to insist there was no timeline for getting a deal done.

"The most direct and honest answer is: no need to worry, good conversations are happening, they are positive and there's no timetable for this," the Falcons' owner wrote.

Meanwhile, GM Thomas Dimitroff told 680 The Fan on Tuesday he believes the Falcons are "close" to a deal with the starting quarterback, noting "it's not a complicated process," via Matt Tabeek of the team's official website.

Kirk Cousins reset the quarterback contract bar with his $84 million guaranteed pact in free agency, giving Ryan and his agent a template to work from in negotiations.

Ryan is set to make $19.25 million in 2018 and count $21.65 million against the salary cap, per Over The Cap. If sides can't come to an agreement on a long-term deal, his franchise tender in 2019 would be about $26 million, with another $31.2 million in 2020.

Ryan isn't going anywhere. The question is whether the Falcons will be willing to go over the $76.45 million guaranteed three-year cash flow to get the former MVP's contract closer to the Cousins deal.

After Cousins got paid, Ryan and Aaron Rodgers are the next QBs in line to break the bank. The question is not if those deals will happen, but when.