The Indianapolis Colts may have found another short-term answer at quarterback by trading for Matt Ryan.
FILE - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan leaves the field after an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday Oct 24, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Fla. The Indianapolis Colts acquired quarterback Matt Ryan in a trade Monday, March 21, 2022, with the Atlanta Falcons, The Associated Press has learned. – On Monday, Indy acquired the 2016 NFL MVP from Atlanta for a third-round pick in this year’s draft .
But the Falcons decided to move on with a major rebuilding job that was only made more difficult by Ryan's onerous contract, which was restructured multiple times in recent years as the team kept pushing a difficult decision down the road without drafting a possible successor.The Falcons will carry a roughly $40 million cap charge in dead money this season, while Ryan's salary cap hit for the Colts is a reported $23.
The Falcons put themselves in quite a bind with their pursuit of Watson, surrendering the long-time face of the franchise for a single, second-day draft pick.As soon as they made a pitch to acquire the embattled Houston quarterback, it became clear Ryan would not want to return to a team where he had played his entire NFL career that then openly tried to replace him.
With Ryan taking over the offense as the starter from Day 1, the Falcons rebounded from a 4-12 mark in 2007 to make the playoffs in his rookie campaign — the first of five consecutive winning seasons and three postseason trips. Until Ryan's arrival, Atlanta had never even managed back-to-back winning seasons since joining the NFL as an expansion team in 1966.
His 59,735 career passing yards are No. 8 in NFL history, and he will likely pass Dan Marino for the No. 7 spot on the list next season. Mariota lost his starting job with the Titans after going 29-32 record in five seasons. He’ll apparently get a chance to resurrect his career with the Falcons, who are also likely to pursue a long-term solution in the draft even though this is not considered a strong QB class.
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