Matt Ryan's second career chapter in Indianapolis is over.
The Colts are planning to release Ryan after one season spent with the team, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday.
Ryan's move from Atlanta to Indianapolis was supposed to be his next (and perhaps last) chance to play for a contender in the Colts, a team that appeared to be a quarterback away from reaching the postseason and potentially going on a deep run. Unfortunately, they never even sniffed the playoffs.
Ryan struggled mightily in Indianapolis, tying for 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 film would suggest), and 31st in touchdown-to-interception ratio (14-13).
Indianapolis went 4-7-1 with Ryan as its starter before an edict from ownership forced then-head coach Frank Reich to bench the veteran in favor of unproven youngster Sam Ehlinger. When that experiment unsurprisingly failed, Reich lost his job. Interim coach Jeff Saturday gave each quarterback a spin, producing just one win -- in a game in which Ryan started -- over the team's final eight games.
As the results indicated, Ryan wasn't the sole problem. General manager Chris Ballard has since admitted his attempt to retool the Colts' offensive line failed, which certainly didn't help Ryan's chances. Indianapolis also was forced to play significant stretches without All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor, the engine of the Colts' offense in 2020 and 2021.
In total, Ryan's time in Indianapolis will ultimately be viewed as a failure, even if the summary isn't entirely fair to him. His career resume, however, remains covered in glitter.
Ryan is tied for 10th for the 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). He's one of six players in NFL history with 350-plus passing touchdowns and an MVP award to his name, joining the likes of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers and Dan Marino.
Each of those quarterbacks are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame or have a spot reserved for them in Canton. Ryan, meanwhile, isn't guaranteed to end up with a gold jacket.
His career isn't quite finished, though, at least not officially. Ryan's release isn't a surprise, but depending on how the weeks ahead unfold, his next destination could be.
