The Indianapolis Colts quarterback has had multiple surgeries to repair his torn ACL and is still fighting Father Time. But that doesn’t mean the future for Ryan is cloudy – he plans for Indy years into the future, even with Andrew Luck as a possible replacement.
Matt Ryan is fighting Father Time but has Indy planning years into the future. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback will be playing his 16th season in 2019, which may lead to a trade or retirement. Read more in detail here: matt ryan trade details.
The Indianapolis Colts have always been the polar opposite of the Cleveland Browns (or what the Browns used to be). The Colts had Peyton Manning and later Andrew Luck while other teams looked high and low for franchise quarterbacks.
Luck, on the other hand, has placed them in a new circumstance. Following his surprise retirement at the age of 29 in 2019, Indy has failed to locate a QB replacement.
After a year of playing with backup Jacoby Brissett, the club signed NFL legend Philip Rivers in 2020. Rivers led Indianapolis to the playoffs, but he retired after just one season due to his age (he was 38 when he joined).
The Colts then went with Carson Wentz as a backup quarterback.
The Wentz experiment ended in an explosion, just as many predicted. Due to a disastrous collapse in the last two weeks of the season, Indy missed the playoffs in 2021, and Wentz was a major factor in the team’s failure.
However, the front office has made it clear that this will not happen again. This summer, Indianapolis acquired 2016 NFL MVP Matt Ryan, who will likely be the team’s sixth different Week 1 starting quarterback in as many seasons.
Ryan will be 37 later this month, so any fears that his position would be comparable to the one the Colts had with Rivers are well-founded. Owner Jim Irsay, on the other hand, assures that this is not the case.
Indianapolis is preparing years ahead of time thanks to Ryan’s vision.
Matt Ryan might stay with the Colts for three or four seasons, according to Jim Irsay.
On Nov. 28, 2019, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan warms up before a game against the New Orleans Saints. | Getty Images/Carmen Mandato
Matt Ryan has two years remaining on his contract, unlike Philip Rivers, who signed a one-year deal with the Colts. He’ll almost certainly play out the next couple of seasons, and he’s said that he has no plans to retire after only a year.
Jim Irsay has also said that this is not the same circumstance as the Rivers incident.
According to ESPN, Irsay recently said, “Matt is different from Philip, and this is obviously different than that.” “It’s not like picking Andrew Luck, but it’s not like drafting Philip Rivers.” We expected Philip to be a one-year project, and we expect this to take at least three years. Who knows what will happen. It’s difficult to put a figure on it.”
Ryan isn’t the quarterback of the future for them. So, after failing to choose a quarterback in the 2022 NFL Draft, are the Colts still seeking for a long-term solution?
“We’re hoping Matt can stay for four years,” Irsay continued. “We’re on the lookout for a young player who can help us in the long run.”
The Colts seem to be utilizing the following seasons to identify their next quarterback, but Ryan has a chance to win a lot of games in the interim.
Matt Ryan’s playing time is limited.
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So, how long can Matt Ryan continue to play at a high level? Last season, his stats were a tad lower (3,968 yards and 20 touchdowns), but he was playing on a club with a terrible offensive line and few weapons.
The Colts are much more gifted than him and can assist him in achieving tremendous success.
Consider the case of Rivers. In his last season with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2019, he threw 20 interceptions. With the Colts in 2020, he only had 11 interceptions and completed 68 percent of his throws, which was his third-best figure in his career.
What about Tom Brady, for example? After passing for just 4,057 yards and completing only 60.8 percent of his passes with the New England Patriots, he seemed to be done at 42 years old in 2019. The 44-year-old led the NFL in passing yards with 5,316 and touchdowns with 43 last season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He also had a completion rate of 67.5 percent.
No, Ryan isn’t Tom Brady, but his success with the Buccaneers, as well as Rivers’ one season with the Colts, show that elderly quarterbacks can still have excellent seasons on strong teams.
Ryan may be able to accomplish something similar with Indy over the following several years. It’s difficult to predict how much longer he can play at a high level, but with a quality team and a dominating running game, Matty Ice might have a few more seasons in him.
Pro Football Reference provided the statistics.
After the Indianapolis Colts’ stellar NFL Draft, Carson Wentz should be sick to his stomach.
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