INDIANAPOLIS — Atlanta Falcons general manger Thomas Dimitroff said signing quarterback Matt Ryan to an extension now with two years left on his contract is not out of the question, but the primary focus is re-signing players set to become unrestricted free agents next week.

Ryan, who signed a five-year, $103.75 million extension in July of 2013 that included $59 million guaranteed, is signed through 2018 and still owed $35 million. His cap number for next season is $23,750,000 and is $21,650,000 for 2018. If the Falcons wanted to, they could give Ryan an extension this offseason and lower his cap number by giving him a larger signing bonus while reducing his base salaries.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank told ESPN.com during Super Bowl that Ryan “needs to be compensated well” following an MVP season. Blank just didn’t specify when the big payday would occur.

“I’m saying that eventually, we will address Matt Ryan and his contract,” Dimitroff said Wednesday. “Right now, our focus is going to be on this year’s class, understanding that Matt is a very important part of our future, as every knows — an extremely important part of our future.”

The Falcons typically award extensions the year before a contract is set to expire.

“We’ve been very consistent with that,” Dimitroff said. “We’re never completely cast in stone. So, I think that leaves the opening that you never know. Sometimes things can get done. But we have been very consistent with that. And if you look at any of our signings since I’ve been here — and I’m a stickler for consistency — that sends a very good message where people can’t say, ‘Well, you did it with him, and you did it with him.’ “

Dimitroff said he has not talked to Ryan’s agent, Tom Condon, regarding an extension. Condon also represents Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford, who is expected to land a new lucrative deal before he becomes an unrestricted free agent following the 2017 season. The deals expected to be signed by both Stafford and Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr are likely to set the mark for where Ryan should be compensated. Andrew Luck of Indianapolis received $87 million guaranteed in a five-year extension signed last June.

Regarding the Falcons set to become unrestricted free agents, Dimitroff said the team is in contract negotiations to keep safety Kemal Ishmael, tight end Levine Toilolo, fullback Patrick DiMarco, and defensive lineman Courtney Upshaw. Dimitroff said he expects veteran defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux, who has spent all 12 of his NFL seasons with the Falcons, to reach free agency, implying the Falcons have no intent to re-sign him. The same is expected for veteran tight end Jacob Tamme, who is coming off of shoulder surgery.

Josep Maria Bartomeu says Barcelona’s pursuit for a new manager will be dealt with carefully after Luis Enrique announced he’ll step down at the end of the season following Wednesday’s 6-1 trouncing of Sporting Gijon.

Rumours were rife that Enrique, who admitted he needs a “little time to rest,” would step down in the summer, but the timing of his declaration came as a shock to many of the Blaugrana faithful.

Barcelona’s president, however, intends to take a measured approach in finding Enrique’s successor.

Related: 4 candidates to succeed Luis Enrique at Barcelona

“We will work with discretion, but we will work on it,” Bartomeu promised to Barca TV, with translation from ESPN FC’s Samuel Marsden.

“There are important games coming up and we will try to work quietly.”

Those upcoming commitments include the herculean task of trying to overturn a 4-0 scoreline in the Champions League last-16 second leg against Paris Saint-Germain next Wednesday, with domestic matches against Celta Vigo and Deportivo La Coruna either side of it.

“We have to accept the manager’s decision and support him,” Bartomeu continued.

“In the summer he communicated to (sporting director) Albert Soler and (technical director) Robert Fernandez that this could be his last year, and the other day he told us that he wouldn’t continue and decided this was the ideal moment to reveal his decision.

“Now we have to focus on the next three months, but Luis Enrique will leave in the summer and we’ve had a super manager for these last three seasons.”

Barcelona now aims to give Enrique, who’s collected seven major titles since taking over in 2014, a glittering send-off. After Real Madrid dropped points in a thrilling 3-3 home draw with Las Palmas later on Wednesday, Barcelona holds top spot in La Liga, albeit having played a game more than its Clasico rival.

Bartomeu was clearly encouraged by the 6-1 hammering of Gijon, though.

“It’s a sad situation because he’s a good coach who has given us success,” he added. “The players are (still) motivated, as we’ve seen. There are three competitions and tomorrow there’s training. We have to keep working until the end of June.”

INDIANAPOLIS – Cincinnati Bengals player personnel director Duke Tobin didn’t shut down the possibility of trading backup quarterback AJ McCarron in the offseason.

Tobin said they’re not actively seeking to move McCarron, but he welcomed any team to call him if they had a reasonable offer.

“The phones in our office work,” Tobin said. “They always work. I’ve got an interest in listening to any of you that want to talk.”

He added later: “We’re not actively looking to diminish our football team by trading AJ McCarron and that diminishes our football team. It has to be something we feel is valuable enough to warrant doing that. What it is, I don’t know. Who it is to, I don’t know. It’s not ideal to trade guys within your division, particularly at that position. But we listen.”

Tobin implied it would take a strong offer for the Bengals to trade McCarron, who started three regular season games in 2015 and the AFC wildcard loss to the Steelers that season while filling in for an injured Andy Dalton.

The Bengals carried three quarterbacks on the active roster in 2016 after claiming Jeff Driskel off waivers, presumably to have a backup plan in case McCarron did get traded. McCarron, drafted in the fifth round of the 2014 draft, technically has one year left on his rookie deal, although the Bengals could have his rights for up to two more seasons because he did not spend enough time on the active roster as a rookie to accrue a year toward free agency.

The widely anticipated stepping down of Luis Enrique has been confirmed, with the manager stating he’s fatigued at the helm of Barcelona and is willing to step aside for a fresh outlook at the Camp Nou.

Historically, the Catalonians have looked for coaches entrenched in the methods taught in La Masia’s classrooms and on its pitches, but with the club’s Champions League campaign reaching an inevitable last-16 exit and the threatening emergence of Sevilla, maybe it’s time for a change in approach.

Here are four potential candidates to take the reins on the Mediterranean coast:

Ronald Koeman

Barcelona’s former set-piece expert, one-man engine room, and mentor to Pep Guardiola has been unabashed in his want to return to the club one day.

Koeman’s Everton burst out the traps this season, and arrested a mid-season slump to draw the best out of Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley, who was beginning to underachieve following much hype when he broke into the side under Roberto Martinez. On the attack, the Toffees regularly adopt a 4-3-3 shape when Lukaku is sufficiently flanked by the wingers, but to call it Barcelona-esque would admittedly be a stretch.

Related – Frank de Boer: Ronald Koeman deserves Barcelona job

There’s no doubting that he’s well-versed in the Blaugrana ways, however, after he was the fulcrum of the legendary Johan Cruyff’s XI for six years.

But his managerial pedigree is dubious – particularly for a post this illustrious. He’s picked up just five major honours in a 20-year coaching career, and isn’t fondly remembered in Spain after his largely limp stint in charge of Valencia between 2007 and 2008.

Still, not many have fared well as Valencia manager in recent times.

Jorge Sampaoli

A man who insists on high pressing, organised chaos, and an aesthetic, swarming attack, Sevilla boss Sampaoli could be just the man to shake up a weathering Barcelona.

He’s an assiduous handler, watching tape after tape of upcoming opponents and drilling his squads in the minute details of how to stymie individual players – ask Lionel Messi, who was nullified both times as Sampaoli’s Chile topped Argentina in back-to-back Copa America finals.

Most notably, he’s an advocate of fluid, rapid attacks, something that has seen seemingly superior sides cower in their own forward forays due to their concern at being caught on the back foot. He’s on course to deliver a better domestic performance than Unai Emery could muster in his three years as Sevilla gaffer.

Sampaoli hasn’t exactly ruled himself out of the job, either.

“If he leaves, there will be an enormous list of candidates. I see it very far away, although the good moment of Sevilla means that people look at their coach,” he said in January, as quoted by The Telegraph’s Matt Law.

Massimiliano Allegri

Allegri is strongly linked to the well-worn bum groove belonging to Arsene Wenger in Arsenal’s technical area, but the plush seats at the Camp Nou undoubtedly have a greater draw.

Unless he’s allowed to flex his financial muscles further at Juventus, Allegri may believe he’s taken the Turin giant as far as it can go. Building on the foundations that Antonio Conte laid, the 49-year-old is en route to Serie A and Coppa Italia titles for a record third straight season. And although the Old Lady is perhaps unfairly written off for the Champions League crown – currently on odds of 7/1 to win the thing – she made short work of FC Porto in their last-16 first leg.

Some may point to Allegri’s underwhelming performances before taking the Juve gig, but his tactical versatility – he freely tweaks his shape and personnel before or during tilts, and often successfully so – will be seen as a huge plus in the attributes of a relatively young manager.

Gerard Lopez

Barcelona’s penchant to hire from within or from faces which adorn the alumni pages will have Gerard Lopez hoping for a sharp trajectory from the B side.

The 37-year-old was quietly efficient in a Barcelona side of the noughties that tended to fall under the shadow of Real Madrid’s Galacticos – showing the technique and accurate passes of so many La Masia graduates – and picked up the primera prize in 2005, his last season with the club as a player.

His appointment could be a crowd-pleasing decision, too, as he’s staunchly Catalonian. Hailing from Granollers, a Barcelona metropolitan area with both industrial and agricultural history, Gerard took his undeniable work ethic to the Catalonia national team in 2013. There, he’s overseen the likes of Xavi, Gerard Pique, and Sergio Busquets.

He’s been in charge of Barcelona B since 2015, honing the skills of the club’s finest progressing through its famed youth academy. His recent students include Granada loanee Sergi Samper, and current young standouts Seung-Woo Lee and Carles Alena.

(Photos courtesy: Reuters)