A veteran quarterback that has played in a Super Bowl is looking for a new team. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Indianapolis Colts are planning to cut Matt Ryan after trading for him last year. Ryan had a forgettable 2022 season, throwing for 3,057 yards, 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 12 games. The move will save the Colts $17.2 million in salary cap space.
Rapoport also said that Ryan will get $12 million in 2023 no matter what he decides to do since he was guaranteed that money when he was traded to the Colts. Before joining Indianapolis, Ryan spent 14 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons and was named to the Pro Bowl four times, selected to the All-Pro First in 2016, was named NFL MVP that same year and led the Falcons to a Super Bowl appearance during the 2016 season. One of the reasons Ryan was traded is the Falcons attempted to acquire Deshaun Watson who ended up joining the Cleveland Browns.
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While appearing on The Ryen Russillo Podcast last year, Ryan explained why he’s no longer a member of the Falcons. “I kind of got filled into the loop that they were gonna look into Deshaun Watson,” Ryan said. “At that point, I said, ‘OK, I understand,’ you know, but I also need to look into what I need to look into, and if this doesn’t go down, find out if this is probably still the best fit for me. And as that week went on, and I just kind of looked into — on my end — what might be the best possible landing spot, or what was best for myself and my family moving forward. As we did that research, to me, it became one spot.”
Ryan, 37, was selected by the Falcons at No. 3 overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. In his 14 seasons with the team, Ryan threw for 59,735 yards, 367 touchdowns and 170 interceptions with a 94.2 passer rating. When it comes to all-time NFL stats, Ryan ranks seventh in passing yards (62,792) and ninth in passing touchdowns (381).
PopCulture.com spoke to Ryan in 2021 about his chances of reaching the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and he said it’s not something he’s thinking about. “I think that I’ve always felt like if you’re worrying about those kinds of things or worrying about too far down the line, you’re not worrying about what’s important, and to me, I think I’ve always operated best when I keep my vision really tight and really small and focus on just what’s in front of my face this week, of trying to be the best player I can be this week to give ourselves a chance to win games and I always thought that if you do it that way, the other things fall into place, and you might have records or you might get accolades, those kind of things fall into place if you handle your business the way that you need to.”
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