According to Pat McAfee, the Falcons are trading QB Matt Ryan to the Colts for a third-round pick in 2022.
Tom Pelissero confirms the news of the trade, which has been developing today and has reached a conclusion.
Today was a deadline for a deal, as Ryan was due a $7.5 million roster bonus that was originally scheduled to be due last week but was pushed back as Atlanta pursued a potential trade for Deshaun Watson.
The Falcons didn’t land Watson but like other teams who were in the mix, they still had to deal with the fallout of pursuing a replacement for their incumbent starter.
Adam Schefter says Ryan wasn’t looking for a new contract but he felt like his time had come in Atlanta and was ready for a move to a contending team.
According to Over The Cap, trading Ryan frees up $9 million in cap space while resulting in an NFL record $40.5 million in dead money.
Ryan, 36, is a former first-round pick of the Falcons back in 2008. He was entering the final year of his six-year, $103.75 million contract when he agreed to a new five-year, $150 million extension with the Falcons in 2018 that included $100 million guaranteed.
Ryan’s contract has been restructured multiple times in recent years for cap space, which is why his cap figures have annually been so high. He is due base salaries of $17.2 million and $21.7 million the final two years of his deal.
In 2021, Ryan appeared in all 17 games for the Falcons and completed 67 percent of his passes for 3,968 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions to go along with 82 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!
Falcons were not going to be making a playoff run anytime soon so this is a good move to get into rebuild mode. The Colts I guess think they’re a QB away from a run.
Not a bad move by the Colts I suppose. Ryan isn’t what he once was, the Falcons obviously should have been honest with themselves and traded him a year or two ago, but it’s a decent trade for both sides.