Matt Ryan wasn't shy and didn't hold back when he was asked about last season when playing for the Indianapolis Colts. With expletive and all, it was a pretty resounding statement to make, not even a year removed from what was a disastrous year in Indianapolis. But it was all too telling of where two teams are presently at in the league.
Matt Ryan's comments tell the trajectory of Colts, Falcons in 2023
When Ryan was traded to the Colts last offseason from the Atlanta Falcons, most believed it was and advantage to the Colts and yet another diminishing move for the lowly Falcons, who barely had the cap space to sign a janitor. After all, Ryan was still very much a capable quarterback in the league. In Ryan's last year with the Falcons, he threw for almost 4,000 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 picks. All Ryan needed was enough tools around him and he'd probably make most team's in the league a playoff contender.
The Colts seemed like the perfect landing spot. They had one of the best running backs in the league in Jonathan Taylor and good offensive line and enough talent at wide receiver, and had a top half defense in the league. What could go wrong?
Everything. Everything could and seemingly did go wrong for Ryan and the 2022 Colts, either by terrible misfortune or horrible team and owner management.
“I mean, it was a s— show, you know, it was a s— show of an 18 months basically is the best way to describe it,” Ryan told The Athletic.
Ryan's roller coaster ride began with his rather abrupt trade from the Falcons, especially after feeling unwanted by team when learning that they was trying to trade for Deshaun Watson, who eventually was traded to the Cleveland Browns instead. But the ride was just beginning at that time last season.
The Colts crumbled in 2022
The perfect match between Ryan and the Colts quickly turned after tying with Houston Texans in Week 1 and then being shutout by the Jacksonville Jaguars, 24-0, in Week 2. From there, the twists and turns were enough to make anyone nauseous. There was the hard turn of Ryan being benched for the first time in his career. Then there were the loops in the firings of offensive coordinator Marcus Brady and head coach Frank Reich. Followed by the sudden 5o-foot drop with the hiring of first-time head coach Jeff Saturday.
Overall, this resulted in a 4-12 season for Ryan and the Colts.
Now, Ryan has been cut from the team and is set to be an analyst for CBS this fall. The Colts, however, received the No. 2 overall pick in the draft after their abysmal season, which led to them drafting Florida Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson. Yet, they're still proving they have their issues, mainly with owner Jim Irsay.
Irsay and team management have been at odds with Jonathan Taylor and his agent during most of the offseason, where the running back — like most others in the league — have been requesting a new deal in what has been a vastly dwindling running back market. The feud has caused Taylor to request a trade, although Irsay has denied that will happen.
Just looking at the Colts now, I'm not sure anyone expected they would be where they're at currently. Granted, most knew that Irsay had his issues, but now that they're becoming more public, especially in light of last year's questionable hiring of Saturday and now the verbal sparring between he and Taylor — Ryan's comments may have well defined the Colts organization as a whole and not just last season.
The Falcons are better off now
The Falcons were in an odd predicament with Ryan at the end of his time in Atlanta. When Arthur Smith came on as head coach in 2021, Ryan's last with Atlanta, the Falcons tried every way in the world not to admit they were in the middle of a rebuild. But bloated contracts — including Ryan's — that put the team in cap space hell resulted in them unable to make any reasonable free agent acquirements that they desperately needed, leaving the team essentially handcuffed. The Falcons, under the previous regime of Dan Quinn, were trying to hold on to the last remnants of the Super Bowl team from 2016, which is the last thing they should have done.
It all resulted in the Falcons releasing both their prized wide receiver in Julio Jones and Ryan in back-to-back seasons, although they were still paying for them up until this season. After trading Ryan to the Colts, the Falcons had $60 million in dead cap money, the worst in NFL history. Now they have just over $18 million, per Matt Urben at USA Today.
The Falcons, by work of general manager Terry Fontenot, have put this team in much better position to win than what they were just a year ago.
The trajectory between both of these team's now is definitely something to keep your eye on, as both look to be headed in opposite directions at the moment.
The Falcons are certainly not out of purgatory yet and still have a lot of doubters to prove wrong. Smith, however, entering year three, has to prove he can be better than 7-10, and that the Falcons can win an easily winnable division in the NFC South. Atlanta also has to prove that there is life post Matt Ryan at the quarterback position, which seems possible even with unproven Desmond Ridder. But what's life like post Matt Ryan for the Colts?
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