INDIANAPOLIS. Matt Ryan felt that next season he would become a quarterback for one of two teams: the Atlanta Falcons or the Indianapolis Colts.
His desire to play for another team for the first time in his 14-year NFL career came over the weekend after a Zoom call with Colts general manager Chris Ballard, head coach Frank Reich, offensive coordinator Marcus Brady and assistant quarterbacks coach Parks Frazier. On Monday, the Falcons traded 36-year-old Ryan to the Colts for a third-round pick this year.
“Their passion, their commitment, their professionalism, Chris’ responsibility for himself and what he does, Frank’s empathy for my situation of understanding that I’m in a certain place and did it one way,” Ryan said Tuesday during his introductory speech. press conference as the Colts’ new starting quarterback. “I just knew the lineup they have and faith in the way they do things, the timing was right for me. I knew it was time to go in a different direction.”
1 Related
Last week, Ryan had no idea where he would play next season. That’s because the Falcons were one of the teams considering trading quarterback Deshawn Watson, which would definitely end Ryan’s time in Atlanta. Ryan and the Falcons pushed back his $7.5 million lineup bonus owed to him to Monday while they waited for Watson to make a decision about his future. Watson eventually waived his no-trade clause and went to the Cleveland Browns, meaning the Falcons had to decide what to do with Ryan.
“It’s definitely been a tumultuous week on my part,” Ryan said. “At this time last week, we didn’t know how things would turn out… I was lucky, I never experienced transactions or lineup changes, which is common and day-to-day for most in the locker room… Since it started last week, and before we sit here today, I thought everyone was handling everything professionally. I didn’t like everything I heard, but sometimes you don’t always like what you hear.”
According to the source, the Falcons and Colts began trade talks on Friday before Ryan met with members of the Colts coaching staff on Saturday. The quarterback walked out of the meeting feeling it was time for a change. Ryan threw for 59,775 yards and threw for 367 touchdowns in his career with the Falcons, including being named NFL Most Valuable Player in 2016.
“I also come from a place where I am very, very lucky to have been for 14 years and I want to start by thanking everyone in the Falcons organization, starting with [owner] Arthur Blank,” Ryan said. – It’s really sad. I really appreciate my time there. It’s sad to see this end, but I’m so excited to see what could happen here. What is this team and organization about. It’s a really exciting day for me and my family.”
Ryan singled out some of the best quarterbacks to play for the Colts, including Johnny Unitas, Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers. Ryan will be the Colts’ sixth Week 1 starting quarterback in as many years next season.
The Colts are hoping that Ryan will not only be the next great quarterback to play for them, but give them at least a couple of years to find a replacement at some point. The Colts have restructured the last two years of Ryan’s deal, with the remaining $53.9 million guaranteed in some form, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
“I said from the beginning that I would like to play as long as possible, I feel very good,” said Ryan. “My body feels very good. I still feel like I can play at the highest level I’ve ever had as long as I have it; no one has a crystal ball to know exactly how long this will go on.”
Ryan mentioned how Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford left the New England Patriots and Detroit Lions respectively and won the Super Bowl with their new teams (Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams) in their first seasons there. For the Colts to even start thinking about becoming a Super Bowl contender, they need to add more offensive chips. Receiver, tight end and left grip top the list of needs. The Colts have only made the playoffs twice since 2014.
“I understand that I am part of this wheel and I need to pull my weight and do my job very well,” Ryan said. “It’s a pretty solid wheel, built [in Indianapolis]. That’s why I have to be a great teammate, do everything in my power, everything I need to do to help the guys. … I’m so excited to get to work and get on the field with these guys and try to do my part to help this team win as many games as possible.”