The Indianapolis Colts have done a lot of moves this offseason that members of the media have deemed smart. But one of them tops them all.
That would be trading a third-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons for 14-year veteran quarterback Matt Ryan. NFL analyst Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report called the acquisition not only the best from the Colts this offseason, but the top move around the entire NFL.
“Once Ryan chose to leave Atlanta because of the Falcons’ pursuit of Deshaun Watson, the Colts struck a deal to acquire the 36-year-old for their original third-round selection, which was lower than the one they acquired from Washington in the Wentz deal,” Sobleski wrote. “Also, Ryan’s salary-cap hit this season is $8.3 million less than Wentz’s.”
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Matt Ryan Admits Indianapolis Was His Top Choice
Ryan said in his introductory press conference with the Colts that not only was Indianapolis his top choice but the only other spot he wanted to be besides Atlanta. He’s repeated that all offseason and then opened up about his departure from the Falcons on The Ryan Russillo Podcast released on April 29.
“Had none of this gone down, there’s probably a chance. A pretty good chance,” Ryan said when Russillo asked if he would have remained in Atlanta had the Falcons not tried to acquire Deshaun Watson. “But it did.”
In summary, even though the Falcons didn’t land Watson, Ryan looked at his other options and decided he wanted to leave. And since he gave Atlanta only one trade partner — the Colts — the asking price in a trade was never going to be very high.
The end result was Indianapolis upgrading its quarterback for less compensation than what they received in return for incumbent signal caller Carson Wentz.
Through the Ryan trade, the Falcons took about a $40.5 million cap hit. Then the Colts restructured Ryan’s deal, so he will only cost approximately $18.7 million against the salary cap in 2022.
This season, Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold will cost more towards the cap than Ryan. Furthermore, Ryan is nearly $10 million cheaper towards the cap than Wentz.
Matt Ryan Compared to Other Quarterback Acquisitions this Offseason
Two of Sobleski’s top three moves this NFL offseason involved quarterbacks.
He wrote that the Cleveland Browns trading for Watson did not make his list because of how many draft selections the Browns gave up to acquire the quarterback. The Denver Broncos trading for Wilson was the No. 3 offseason move on Sobleski’s list.
While Sobleski likes the move for Ryan mostly because it came so cheaply, he also complimented the 14-year veteran for what he will bring to the Colts on the field.
“Ryan may not be the quarterback he once was,” Sobleski wrote. “He certainly isn’t near Watson or Russell Wilson when they’re on their game.
“Yet, the Colts shuffled through multiple starters, admitted their mistake with Wentz and somehow came out of their quarterback purgatory much better off while spending next to nothing to do so.”
Ryan brings nearly 60,000 passing yards and 367 passing touchdowns on his resume to Indianapolis. He is 120-102 in the NFL as a starter.
With Ryan behind center, NFL reporter Nate Davis of USA Today has ranked the Colts in the top 10 on two of his NFL Power Rankings this offseason.
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NFL Analyst Ranks Colts Move Best of the 2022 Offseason