Trade Grade: Atlanta Falcons trade Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts.

The NFL is trying to crash the breaking news system with these offseason trades, aren’t they. Another QB is on the move and this time, it’s Matt Ryan. Atlanta has came to an agreement with the Indianapolis Colts on a trade. The details are down below.

Atlanta Falcons Acquire: 2023 3rd Round Pick.
Indianapolis Colts Acquire: QB Matt Ryan

Atlanta Falcons Side

An era has ended. Matt Ryan is gone. I knew that this day would be coming as the Falcons have been on a slow decline since Super Bowl 51, where the team blew a 28-3 lead. Also, the Falcons did not want to make the same mistake the Giants and Steelers did by keeping an aging QB on the team with potential signs of regression. The Falcons are looking to rebuild and Matt Ryan is not getting any younger at the age of 36 (He turns 37 in May). Best to get some value now than lose him for nothing when he retires in a few years. If you think losing a Falcon legend in Matt Ryan hurts, look at the dead cap hit it caused. All I have to say is, yikes. The Falcons trading Matt Ryan is resulting in a dead cap hit of $40.525 million, the most in NFL history. Welcome back to cap hell, Falcons. At least they got a mid round pick to get rid of his awful contract.

Indianapolis Colts Side

Another year, another starting QB for the Indianapolis Colts. I wonder if the Colts are cursed now thanks to the whole Andrew Luck saga (I hope that Andrew Luck is okay and enjoying retirement). With the Colts getting rid of Carson Wentz, they had to find a new starting quarterback. That QB is now Matt Ryan. Is it just me or does acquiring Matt Ryan sort of feel similar to when the Indianapolis Colts signed Philip Rivers? But this time there is a bad contract involved. That is almost Carson Wentz level bad. In Matt Ryan’s contract, he has a cap hit of $23.75 million in 2022 and $28 million in 2023. At least the Colts did not give up too much draft capital to acquire him. This, again, is another risky move and if it doesn’t pan out, Frank Reich, and potentially Chris Ballard, could be looking for new jobs at the end of next season.

Grades for  Matt Ryan Trade
Atlanta Falcons: C+
Indianapolis Colts: C-

This is a win-win trade for both teams but I have to give the win in the deal to the Falcons. The dead cap sucks but at least they get out of a bad contract and get a mid round pick to help with their rebuild. The Colts? Well, they are right back to where they started when Philip Rivers was at QB. The worst part is he has a bad contract that is almost Carson Wentz level of bad and could suffer massive level of regression this year. Very risky move for Colts GM Chris Ballard to make and solid move by Falcons GM Terry Fontenot.