INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts may have found another short-term answer at quarterback by trading for Matt Ryan.
How much longer the soon-to-be 37-year-old, four-time Pro Bowler sticks around isn’t clear.
On Monday, Indy acquired the 2016 league MVP from Atlanta for a third-round pick in this year’s draft (No. 82 overall,) a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been announced.
The deal completes Indy’s two-week search for a successor to Carson Wentz, who was traded to the Washington Commanders after just one season with the Colts. For Colts General Manager Chris Ballard, it’s also the latest attempt to plug a hole created by Andrew Luck’s surprise retirement at age 29 just before the start of the 2018 season.
Ryan will become the sixth quarterback to start in Week 1 for the Colts in six years, adding his name to a list that already is comprised of Scott Tolzien, Luck, Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers and Wentz. He joins a franchise whose vice chairman Bill Polian once said he considered Ryan the most similar player in the league to Peyton Manning.
“You’ve got to be right (at quarterback) and even if you’re not right, you’ve got to keep firing away until you get it right,” Ballard said during the NFL’s annual scouting combine. “We’ve got to get it right.”
The deal also makes something else clear: The Falcons are entering rebuild mode.
Shortly after the Falcons made a highly publicized but failed bid to acquire Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson last week, it became clear Ryan did not want to return to a team where he had played his entire NFL career and then openly tried to replace him.
Watson supposedly narrowed his potential choices for a trade to New Orleans and Atlanta – with speculation the Falcons were the favorite since Watson is a Georgia native. But he changed his mind and accepted a $230 million, fully guaranteed deal with the Cleveland Browns who sent three first-round picks to the Texans in the deal.
Ryan is undoubtedly the greatest quarterback in Falcons history, the No. 3 overall pick in 2008 who stepped in to replace Michael Vick. He steadied a franchise rocked by Coach Bobby Petrino’s departure after 13 games and Vick’s imprisonment for running a dogfighting ring.
With Ryan running the offense, the Falcons rebounded from a 4-12 mark in 2007 to make the playoffs in 2008 – the first of five consecutive winning seasons and three postseason trips. Until Ryan’s arrival, Atlanta had never even managed back-to-back winning seasons since joining the NFL as an expansion team in 1966.
After several down years for the team, Ryan turned in his greatest season in 2016, throwing for a career-best 4,944 yards with 38 touchdowns. Atlanta appeared headed for its first Super Bowl crown when it took a 28-3 lead over the New England Patriots by late in the third quarter.
But Tom Brady engineered the greatest comeback in title game history for a 34-28 overtime victory.
Even though the Falcons made one more playoff appearance with Ryan, in 2017, they never seemed to recover from the stunning collapse on the NFL’s biggest stage. Atlanta has endured four straight losing seasons, including a 7-10 mark last year, and is clearly in rebuilding mode.
FALCONS: Less than two hours after news broke that the Falcons had agreed to trade quarterback Matt Ryan, the team announced it had agreed to terms with quarterback Marcus Mariota on a two-year contract.
Mariota, 28, was originally selected by the Titans in the first round (second overall) of the 2015 NFL draft from Oregon. He completed 1,128 of 1,795 attempts (62.8%) for 13,437 yards, 77 touchdowns and 45 interceptions for an 89.5 passer rating in 74 games (61 starts) for the Titans and Raiders. He has also rushed for 1,574 yards on 264 attempts (6.0 avg.) and 13 touchdowns. He has been the backup with the Raiders the past two seasons after his final season with the Titans in 2019.
SAINTS: Free-agent quarterback Jameis Winston has agreed to return to the New Orleans Saints, a person familiar with the situation said.
Winston, who started seven games for New Orleans in 2021 before a season-ending knee injury, has agreed to a two-year contract, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the move has not been announced.
The Saints went 5-2 in the games Winston started in 2021, although he played just two series in his seventh game before tearing knee ligaments when he was brought down by Tampa Bay linebacker Devin White during scramble.
BILLS: Quarterback Matt Barkley is returning to the Buffalo Bills for a second stint after signing a one-year contract.
Barkley adds experienced depth behind starter Josh Allen, and after the Bills acquired Case Keenum in a trade with Cleveland over the weekend. He’s familiar with Buffalo and grew close with Allen after spending two-plus seasons with the Bills before not being re-signed by the team after the 2020 season.
Barkley became expendable last year after the Bills signed Mitchell Trubisky to a one-year contract and takes over the primary backup role. Trubisky signed with Pittsburgh in free agency last week.
RAVENS: The Baltimore Ravens agreed to a three-year deal with fullback Patrick Ricard.
Ricard has spent all five of his NFL seasons with Baltimore.
RAIDERS: The Las Vegas Raiders signed free-agent linebackers Kyler Fackrell and Micah Kiser to add depth to a thin group.
The Raiders were in need of help at linebacker after Nicholas Morrow signed with the Bears last week and Las Vegas released Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski as salary cap casualties.
Las Vegas also re-signed tackle Brandon Parker as an option on the offensive line after he started 13 games at right tackle last season.
COWBOYS: The Dallas Cowboys added defensive end Dante Fowler and receiver James Washington in free agency, and tight end Dalton Schultz signed his $10.9 million franchise tag.
CHIEFS: The Kansas City Chiefs agreed with defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi on a contract for next season, adding to the continuity on the defensive line that came with restructuring the contract of pass rusher Frank Clark.
EAGLES: The Philadelphia Eagles signed wide receiver Zach Pascal to a one-year contract.
Pascal had 38 catches for 384 yards and three touchdowns last season for Indianapolis.
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