Atlanta Falcons 'Outsmarted' Colts in Trade of Benched QB Matt Ryan? Here's the Truth
In many corners of the NFL world, your Atlanta Falcons are being congratulated for hoodwinking the Indianapolis Colts in the trade that sent quarterback Matt Ryan out of town after 14 years.
Those back pats are based on a lie.
Ryan has been benched in Indianapolis in favor of young Sam Ehlinger, and the reasons are no secret. Ryan, 37, has not recaptured the magic that once made him an MVP and Super Bowl QB in Atlanta. Ryan has a bum shoulder, but the real issues include owner Jim Irsay's unhappiness over the Colts' 3-3-1 record and a pile of negative numbers, as Ryan leads the NFL in interceptions (nine), fumbles (11) and sacks taken (24) for a team averaging just 16 points per game.
And the Falcons knew he was going to collapse ... right?
Wrong.
Atlanta GM Terry Fontenot does not need your revisionist history.
Just before the Colts gave up a third-round pick in trade, the Falcons were prepared to retain Ryan and to ride out the final two years of a five-year, $150 million contract he signed with the Falcons in 2018. He was going to make $54 million over the next two years and be the Atlanta starter for the next two years, too.
That was the plan.
But then, of course, came another plan, the failed pursuit of Deshaun Watson, which is really the reason Ryan isn't here. Even after Watson declined to come home to Atlanta to instead accept a trade from Houston to Cleveland, the Falcons' respect for Ryan led to him getting a fresh start elsewhere.
And how did/does that work commitment-wise to Ryan, even still? It works in the form of the all-time-high dead-money charge of $40.525 million on the Falcons' salary cap this season. ... and of course, they are paying replacement Marcus Mariota, too, making the "QB position'' on Atlanta's ledger a pricy one.
As the fellas like to say, "You ain't slick, bro.''
The Colts, commitment-wise, were right there with Atlanta as upon his acquisition they elected to make the rest of Ryan's $54 million contract - that same contract that Fontenot's predecessors engineered - guaranteed.
In doing so, the Colts piled a mistake upon a mistake. But obviously, Indianapolis didn't plan it this way.
And, in fairness, neither did
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