Fighting mightily in Indianapolis, Ryan achieved the second most giveaways in the NFL in 2022 with 18. He ranked 27th in passing yards per attempt, 28th in passer rating (83.9, surprisingly better than the movie suggests), and 31st in touchdown-to-interception ratio (14- 13).
Indianapolis went 4-7-1 with Ryan as a starter before an owner’s edict forced then-head coach Frank Reich to bench the veteran in favor of unproven youngster Sam Ehlinger. When this experiment unsurprisingly failed, Reich lost his job. Caretaker coach Jeff Saturday gave every quarterback a spin and had just one win — in a game Ryan started — in the team’s last eight games.
As the results showed, Ryan wasn’t the only problem. General manager Chris Ballard, meanwhile, has admitted his attempt to retool the Colts’ offensive line failed, which certainly didn’t help Ryan’s chances. Indianapolis was also forced to play significant stretches without running back All-Pro Jonathan Taylor, the Colts’ offense engine in 2020 and 2021.
Overall, Ryan’s time at Indianapolis is ultimately considered a failure, even if the summary isn’t entirely fair to him. However, his professional resume remains covered in glitter.
Ryan ranks 10th for most QB wins all-time (124) and ranks fifth in completions (5,551), seventh in passing yards (62,792), and ninth in passing touchdowns (381). One of six players in NFL history with more than 350 passing touchdowns and an MVP award to his name, he joins the likes of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers and Dan Marino.
Each of these quarterbacks is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame or has a spot reserved for them in Canton. Ryan, meanwhile, isn’t guaranteed to end up with a gold jacket.
His career isn’t quite over yet, at least not officially. Ryan’s release comes as no surprise, but depending on how the coming weeks play out, that could be his next target.