Colts Releasing QB Matt Ryan

Zach Klein, citing a league source, reports that the Colts are planning to cut QB Matt Ryan.

According to OverTheCap.com, releasing Ryan will free up $17.2 million of available cap space while creating $18 million in dead money. 

The expectation has been that the Colts would release Ryan this offseason so this isn’t a big surprise. 

Ryan’s one season in Indianapolis was largely disappointing. It remains to be seen whether he’ll continue his career with another team or consider retirement. 

Ryan, 37, 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 was due base salaries of $17.2 million and $21.7 million in the final two years of his deal when the Falcons traded him to the Colts for a third-round pick in 2022. 

In 2022, Ryan has appeared in 12 games for the Colts and completed 67 percent of his passes for 3,057 yards, 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.