FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The Atlanta Falcons announced Friday that they have agreed to terms with left tackle Jake Matthews to a five-year extension.
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"I had a pretty good idea what was going to happen this morning," Matthews said after practice Friday. "I was excited to come play ball; that's all I really want to do is play ball with this team. I couldn't be happier. I can't show enough appreciation towards Mr. Blank or Thomas [Dimitroff] or Coach Quinn, everybody here. I love playing here, I love this city. I'm really blessed."
Matthews, 26, was selected by the Falcons with the sixth-overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Since joining the team, Matthews has played in 63 games with 63 starts.
During Matthews run as the team's starting left tackle the Falcons are 35-29 with three playoff wins, an NFC title and a Super Bowl appearance. In 2016, Matthews helped the Falcons' offense finish second in yards per game, fifth in rushing yards per game and first in scoring offense.
Pro Football Focus ranked the Falcons' offensive line as the No. 2 unit after the 2017 season with Matthews earning a performance grade of 80.8 from the site.
Although he has a new extension from the team, Matthews is not content to take things easy. The son of Hall of Fame lineman Bruce Matthews, who played 19 years in the NFL and never missed a game due to injury, Matthews understands the importance of continuing to develop as a player.
"Nobody's made it, man," Matthews said. "There's always something you can improve upon. My dad, I talk to him almost every night, the guy played 19 years and he was telling me that at the end of his last year he felt like he had a lot to get better at. So that's a never ending process. I enjoy it. I love this team, I love what we've got going. We're a really good team, we have a lot of really good players and we expect a lot out of ourselves. I'm fired up, I'm ready to roll."
