Ryan Clark Wasn't Forced From Air During Commercial Break After ESPN Layoff

Ryan Clark was let go by ESPN yesterday in the middle of a live show ... and TMZ has learned how it all went down.

A source with direct knowledge tells TMZ ... Ryan was going to be notified on Tuesday that he was part of a mass layoff, but on Monday ... the network was made aware that a report was about to drop about the former NFL player being laid off. The report was going to be published while Ryan was filming "NFL Live" and a call had to be made ... how should he find out?

We're told ESPN honchos decided to get ahead of the news and tell Ryan during a commercial break, rather than him see an alert on his phone.

Ryan did not come back on the air after being informed he was being let go ... obviously, the news rattled him, and we're told both Ryan and ESPN agreed it was better not to return.

It's not like Ryan was then escorted off set ... Ryan was appearing on the show via Zoom ... and was not in the studio.

Our source also threw cold water on speculation that Ryan's "NFL Live" colleagues were told what was about to happen ... folks believed that to be the case because the talent was nodding on camera ... but we're told all the nodding was just Ryan's colleagues agreeing with the points he was making during what turned out to be his last segment.