The Indianapolis Colts have acquired former NFL MVP Matt Ryan from the Atlanta Falcons as the league’s quarterback carousel continues to spin.
The Colts, who were looking for a new starting quarterback after trading Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders, sent a third-round pick to the Falcons in exchange for the 36-year-old.
Trade!! The #Falcons are in agreement on a trade of QB Matt Ryan to the #Colts, per @MikeGarafolo, @TomPelissero and me. ATL gets a 3rd back.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 21, 2022
Fallout from the Deshaun Watson situation, with Ryan starting over in Indy. Ryan gets a contract adjustment with more guaranteed money.
Speculation that Ryan would leave the Falcons had risen in recent days after the team actively pursued Deshaun Watson, who eventually joined the Cleveland Browns. The Falcons drafted Ryan with the No 3 overall pick in the 2008 draft and he has played his entire professional career in Atlanta. He was named league MVP for the 2016 season, when he led the Falcons to the Super Bowl where they infamously lost to the New England Patriots despite at one point holding a 28-3 lead.
Ryan had reportedly wanted to remain in Atlanta, even though head coach Arthur Smith had refused to say whether the team intended to stick with their veteran quarterback.
“There’s not many guys like Matt that can operate the level he does,” Smith said at the end of last season. “The leadership, the real leadership that goes on behind the scenes. The way he prepares. He’s the same guy every day. That’s a huge compliment to him.”
The Colts’ move opens up fresh questions about the future of Baker Mayfield, who is almost certainly on his way out of the Browns after they acquired Watson. Mayfield had reportedly favored Indianapolis as his next team after Cleveland but that possibility has disappeared with the Colts’ move for Ryan.
Matt Ryan’s trade will incur a dead cap hit of $40.525M for the Falcons, the largest dead cap hit in NFL history by nearly $7M.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 21, 2022
Atlanta will also take a $40.5m dead cap hit from the Ryan trade, the largest in NFL history. Later on Monday, they announced they had signed former Tennessee Titans and Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Marcus Mariota to a two-year deal.
Elsewhere in the NFC South on Monday, the New Orleans Saints reportedly re-signed Jameis Winston on a two-year deal. The Saints had also been interested in Watson but when he moved to the Browns they fell back on Winston, who first joined the team in 2020.
