Logan Ryan

Logan Daniel Ryan (born February 9, 1991) is an American former professional football defensive back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. He played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights as a cornerback and was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft. Ryan also played for the Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and San Francisco 49ers. He played cornerback for the first seven seasons of his career before switching to safety in 2020 and playing the position in his last four seasons.

Early life

A native of Berlin, New Jersey, Ryan attended Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees, New Jersey, and played for the Eastern Vikings high school football team. He was an all-state selection at both cornerback and quarterback. Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Ryan was ranked the No. 32 cornerback prospect in his class.

College career

Ryan played for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team. He was a second-team All-Big East Conference selection as a sophomore in 2011 and was a first-team All-Big East selection as a junior in 2012.

Ryan was also named a first-team All-American by ''Pro Football Weekly'' in 2012.

On December 31, 2012, Ryan announced that he would forgo his senior year at Rutgers and declared for the 2013 NFL draft.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Coming out of Rutgers, Ryan was projected to be a third round draft pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts. He attended the NFL combine and completed all of the required combine and positional drills. On March 13, 2013, Ryan participated at Rutgers' pro day along with Marcus Cooper, Duron Harmon, Steve Beauharnais, Mark Harrison, Brandon Jones, Jawan Jamison, Khaseem Greene, and seven others. NFLDraftScout.com ranked him the 13th best cornerback prospect in the draft.

New England Patriots

2013 season

The New England Patriots selected Ryan in the third round (83rd overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft. He was the 14th cornerback drafted in 2013. On May 16, 2013, Ryan signed a four-year, $2.77 million contract that included a signing bonus of $563,252.

Ryan competed for a starting cornerback job behind Alfonzo Dennard, Aqib Talib, Kyle Arrington, and Ras-I Dowling. Head coach Bill Belichick named Ryan the fourth cornerback on the Patriots' depth chart to begin the 2013 season, behind Dennard, Talib, and Arrington.

Ryan made his NFL debut in the narrow season-opening 23–21 victory over the Buffalo Bills but did not record any statistics. During a Week 6 30–27 victory over the New Orleans Saints, Ryan made his first NFL start, yet recorded no statistics. In the next game against the New York Jets, Ryan recorded four tackles, a pass deflection, and his first NFL interception off a pass from quarterback Geno Smith during the 27–30 road loss. Ryan returned the interception for a 79-yard touchdown, marking the first of his career. The following week against the Miami Dolphins, Ryan had five tackles, a pass deflection, forced a fumble, and was credited with the first 1.5 sacks of his career after taking down Ryan Tannehill in a 27–17 victory.

During a Week 12 34–31 victory over the Denver Broncos, Ryan was named the starter over Alfonzo Dennard, who had been battling a knee injury. In that game, Ryan had four tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception off a pass thrown by Peyton Manning. The following week, Ryan started in place of Dennard, who was inactive, and recorded three solo tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass attempt by Case Keenum in a 34–31 road victory over the Houston Texans. Three weeks later against the Baltimore Ravens, Ryan had a tackle, a season-high two pass deflections, and intercepted Joe Flacco twice during the 41–7 road victory.

Ryan finished his rookie year with 35 combined tackles (29 solo), 1.5 sacks, five interceptions, 10 pass deflections, and a forced fumble in 16 games and seven starts.

The Patriots finished the 2013 season atop the AFC East with a 12–4 record and earned a first-round bye in the playoffs. Ryan made his postseason debut in the Divisional Round against the Indianapolis Colts and recorded four tackles during the 43–22 victory. During the AFC Championship Game against the Broncos, Ryan had eight tackles in the 26–16 road loss.

2014 season

Ryan competed against Alfonzo Dennard, Darrelle Revis, Kyle Arrington, and Brandon Browner for the vacant starting cornerback position left by the departure of Aqib Talib. Ryan was named the third cornerback on the Patriots' depth chart to begin the regular season.

On September 14, 2014, Ryan earned his first start of the season after Dennard was unable to play due to a shoulder injury. Ryan recorded three combined tackles, defended two passes, and intercepted Teddy Bridgewater during a 30–7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. In the next game, he recorded a season-high four solo tackles and deflected a pass during a 16–9 win against the Oakland Raiders. In the regular-season finale, Ryan collected a season-high five combined tackles during a 17–9 loss to the Bills. He was named the starter after Alfonzo Dennard suffered a hamstring injury earlier in the week.

Ryan finished his second professional season with 42 combined tackles (29 solo), six pass deflections, and two interceptions in 16 games and six starts.

The Patriots finished the season atop the AFC East with a 12–4 record. On January 10, 2015, Ryan made one tackle and forced a fumble in a 35–31 victory over the Ravens in the Divisional Round. Three weeks later, Ryan appeared in Super Bowl XLIX and made a tackle and pass deflection during a 28–24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

2015 season

Ryan competed with Malcolm Butler, Justin Green, Bradley Fletcher, and Tarell Brown for the vacant starting cornerback positions throughout training camp after Darrelle Revis, Alfonzo Dennard, Kyle Arrington, and Brandon Browner left during the off season. Head coach Bill Belichick named him the third cornerback on the depth chart behind Malcolm Butler and Tarell Brown to start the season.

During a Week 2 40–32 victory over the Bills, Ryan recorded four combined tackles, deflected a pass, and intercepted a pass attempt by Tyrod Taylor. The following week, he was named the starting cornerback after Tarell Brown was unable to play due to a foot injury. Ryan made four combined tackles in the 51–17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

During a Week 5 30–6 road victory over the Dallas Cowboys, Ryan recorded three combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass attempt by quarterback Brandon Weeden. In the next game, he recorded a season-high nine combined tackles and defended the pass during a 34–27 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. He was named the indefinite starting cornerback for the remainder of the season after the game, replacing Tarell Brown who was placed on injured reserve.

Ryan finished the 2015 season with 74 combined tackles (58 solo), a then career-high 14 pass deflections, and four interceptions in 16 games and 14 starts.

The Patriots finished atop the AFC East with a 12–4 record and earned a playoff berth. On January 16, 2016, Ryan made his first NFL postseason start and recorded nine combined tackles during a 27–20 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round. The following week, he made five solo tackles and defended a pass, as the Patriots narrowly lost on the road 20–18 to the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.

2016 season

Ryan was named the starting cornerback, alongside Malcolm Butler, for the second consecutive season.

On October 2, 2016, Ryan recorded a career-high 17 combined tackles during a 16–0 shutout loss to the Bills. He was delegated to the third cornerback on the depth chart for Weeks 7–8 after Eric Rowe emerged as the starter after being inactive for the first five games while rehabbing an ankle injury. During Week 11, Ryan was moved to starting nickelback after struggling against receivers as the starting outside cornerback. Rowe replaced starting outside cornerback as Ryan took over slot coverage duties from Patrick Chung. Ryan developed into a viable starting nickelback and gave up only four receptions on 11 targets through Weeks 11–12. Through Weeks 11–16, he was called for one penalty and allowed no touchdown receptions and only 11 catches on 30 pass attempts.

On December 18, 2016, Ryan recorded seven solo tackles, deflected a pass, and intercepted Trevor Siemian as the Patriots defeated the Broncos on the road by a score of 16–3. In the regular-season finale against the Dolphins, Ryan made seven combined tackles, defended a pass, and intercepted Ryan Tannehill once during the 35–14 road victory.

Ryan finished the 2016 season with a then-career-high 92 combined tackles (74 solo), 11 pass deflections, two interceptions, a sack, and a forced fumble in 16 games and 13 starts. He started six games as the outside cornerback with Malcolm Butler and started seven games as nickelback.

The Patriots finished atop the AFC East with a 14–2 record. On January 14, 2017, Ryan started at nickelback in the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Texans and collected seven combined tackles, three pass deflections, a sack, and intercepted a pass attempt by Brock Osweiler in the 34–16 victory. Three weeks later, Ryan started in the Super Bowl LI — the first Super Bowl start of his career — and recorded six combined tackles as the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34–28 in overtime after trailing by 25 points in the third quarter.

Tennessee Titans

2017 season

On March 10, 2017, the Tennessee Titans signed Ryan to a three-year, $30 million contract with $12 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2 million.

Ryan was named the Titans' starting cornerback, opposite Adoree' Jackson, to begin the regular season. Ryan made his Titans debut in the season-opening 26–16 loss to the Raiders and recorded a tackle and forced a fumble. Two weeks later, Ryan had a season-high six solo tackles and a season-high three pass deflections, as the Titans defeated the Seahawks 33–27.

Ryan finished his first season with the Titans with 62 tackles, a forced fumble, and 11 pass deflections.

The Titans finished second in the AFC South with a 9–7 record and qualified for the playoffs. In the Wild Card Round, the Titans played the Chiefs, where Ryan had three solo tackles during the narrow 22–21 road victory. During the Divisional Round against his former team, the Patriots, Ryan had 12 tackles (10 solo) in the 35–14 road loss.

2018 season

Ryan entered the 2018 season as a starting cornerback alongside Adoree' Jackson and former Patriots teammate Malcolm Butler. He started the first 14 games before suffering a broken fibula in a Week 15 17–0 road victory against the New York Giants. Ryan was placed on injured reserve on December 18.

Ryan finished the 2018 season with 76 tackles, eight pass deflections, no interceptions, and a career-high four sacks.

2019 season

Ryan returned from his injury in time for the Titans' season opener against the Cleveland Browns. In that game, he made eight tackles, sacked Baker Mayfield 1.5 times, and intercepted a pass from him once as the Titans won on the road 43–13. In the next game against the Colts, he intercepted former Patriots teammate Jacoby Brissett once as the Titans narrowly lost 19–17. Three weeks later against the Bills, Ryan recorded a team-high nine tackles and sacked Josh Allen once in the 14–7 loss. During a narrow Week 10 35–32 victory over the Chiefs, Ryan recorded a team-high 13 tackles and three pass deflections.

Ryan finished the season setting career-highs in tackles with 113 (73 solo), sacks with 4.5, pass deflections with 18, and forced fumbles with four. He also had four interceptions.

On January 4, 2020, the Titans played in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs where they faced Ryan's former team, the Patriots. In the waning seconds of the game with the Titans leading 14–13, and New England on their own 1-yard line, Ryan intercepted a deflected pass from former teammate Tom Brady (which turned out to be Brady's final pass as a Patriot, as he would not return to the Patriots the following season) and returned it for a nine-yard touchdown. The score secured a 20–13 upset in Foxborough, allowing the Titans to play in the Divisional Round of the playoffs for the second time in three years. In the Divisional Round against the Ravens, Ryan recorded a team-high 13 tackles during the 28–12 road victory. During the AFC Championship Game against the Chiefs, he recorded six tackles in the 35–24 road loss.

On May 5, 2020, Ryan announced that he would not return to the Titans. He was ranked 60th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020.

New York Giants

2020 season

On September 5, 2020, Ryan signed a one-year, $7.5 million contract with the Giants. This was the first season that Ryan chose to switch positions from cornerback to safety.

During a Week 5 37–34 road loss to the Cowboys, Ryan recorded a tackle on quarterback Dak Prescott that caused Prescott's right ankle to compound fracture and dislocate. In Week 9 against the Washington Football Team, a day after his wife suffered an ectopic pregnancy, Ryan recorded his first interception of the season off quarterback Alex Smith with less than two minutes in the fourth quarter to secure a 23–20 Giants' win.

On December 25, 2020, Ryan signed a three-year, $31 million contract extension with $20 million guaranteed. He finished the 2020 season with 94 total tackles (68 solo), one interception, nine passes defended, and three forced fumbles.

2021 season

On November 20, 2021, Ryan was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list ruling him out for Week 11 and Week 12 games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Philadelphia Eagles. On November 30, Ryan was activated off of the reserve/COVID-19 list. He finished the 2021 season with 117 total tackles (77 solo), eight passes defended, two forced fumbles, and a sack in 16 games and starts.

The Giants released Ryan on March 17, 2022.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On March 24, 2022, Ryan signed with the Buccaneers. On August 31, Ryan, who had been released during final roster cuts the day previous, re–signed with the Buccaneers after Ryan Jensen was placed on injured reserve. He suffered a foot injury in Week 4 and was placed on injured reserve on October 18. He was activated on December 5.

Ryan finished the 2022 season with 37 total tackles (24 solo), three pass deflections, an interception, and a forced fumble in nine games and six starts.

San Francisco 49ers

On December 6, 2023, Ryan signed with the San Francisco 49ers after starting safety Talanoa Hufanga suffered a season-ending torn ACL.

Ryan finished the 2023 season with 13 tackles in five games and two starts. In Super Bowl LVIII, he had seven tackles and a forced fumble during the 25–22 overtime loss.

Retirement

On April 9, 2024, in a video posted on social media, Ryan announced his retirement from the NFL.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

Ryan and his wife, Ashley, have two kids, Avery and Otto, and are the founders of The Ryan Animal Rescue Foundation (RARF.org). RARF works with animal welfare organizations to promote adoption and provide grants and educational opportunities. Every month on the 26th—the day corresponding to his jersey number—Ryan posts a photo on social media with a dog that is in need of adoption along with the hashtag #ryansmonthlyrescue. Ryan's older brother, Jordan, attended Drexel University and is now an engineer.

Ryan's wife needed emergency surgery during November 2020, due to trouble with her pregnancy.

References

External links

Rutgers Scarlet Knights bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Logan
1991 births
All-American college football players
American football cornerbacks
American football safeties
Eastern Regional High School alumni
Living people
New England Patriots players
New York Giants players
People from Berlin, New Jersey
Rutgers Scarlet Knights football players
Players of American football from Camden County, New Jersey
Tennessee Titans players
San Francisco 49ers players
21st-century African-American sportsmen
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players