ryan was selected by the st. louis rams in the fifth round (154th overall) of the 2007 nfl draft. on july 14, 2007, the st. louis rams agreed to terms with ryan on a three-year $1.24 million contract that included a $129,000 signing bonus. in his debut season he played in all 16 games finishing the season with 30 tackles and two sacks. he was not re-signed following the 2010 season and became a free agent on march 17, 2011. his career was cut short due to concussions.