Colts to bench QB Ryan … In a rather stunning development in Indianapolis, the Colts have announced that Sam Ehlinger will replace veteran Matt Ryan at QB starting this Sunday when they play Washington. In fact, Ryan wasn’t going to play anyway because he has a minor shoulder injury, but the Colts have stressed the move is for the rest of the season. The Colts acquired Ryan from Atlanta this spring for a 3rd round pick at the 2022 draft. And while Ryan put up some decent numbers with the Colts including a 69% completion mark, Indianapolis has struggled to put points on the board – they are 29th in total offense – while Ryan has been something of a turnover machine with a league-leading 9 sacks and three lost fumbles. It is almost as shocking that the Colts will be turning the offense over to Ehlinger, a former 6th round draft pick who has never thrown a pass in a regular season game, although he did play well in pre-season games this fall. It may also not be a coincidence that the move comes just a week before the NFL trade deadline. Ryan is under contract thru 2023 and if there was a team out there looking for a veteran QB he is almost certainly available. And it would certainly behoove the Colts to move Ryan if they could; he clearly isn’t the answer going forward for the team and trading him would save up to $30M on their 2023 cap, whereas it would only be $17M if he were to be released.
