Who is the mystery quarterback the Colts almost traded for?
Indianapolis Colts owner, Jim Irsay, revealed that the team almost traded for a young quarterback but who could it have been?
Heading into next season, Matt Ryan will be the starting quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts. Indy arrived at Ryan after trading away Carson Wentz and eventually working out a deal to trade for Ryan.
Typically, once things reach a solution, involved parties are usually transparent about the path that led to the destination. That’s the case for Indy as the team has been describing the two-week journey from when Wentz was traded to when Ryan was acquired.
Chris Ballard, Frank Reich, and Jim Irsay have all talked about how lucky the team was to ultimately end up with Ryan, admitting that Indy was kind of in the dark with no backup plan after moving on from Wentz.
Irsay said during that time, the Colts “flirted” with a possible trade for a young quarterback that would have cost multiple first-round picks. Of course, Irsay didn’t name the player, so that left fans speculating on who it could’ve been. What young quarterback was almost in Indy?
Among the highlights from 45 minutes with Colts owner Jim Irsay at the owners meetings this afternoon...
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) March 29, 2022
*The Colts flirted with a potential trade for "a young QB" that would have involved multiple first rounders. Trade did not materialize, Irsay said. Didn't name names.
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What quarterback did Colts almost trade for?
Irsay didn’t give much to the people to try and piece this together, but young and worth multiple first-rounders is enough to make educated guesses once the context of the league is included.
Jordan Love is a young quarterback and became a trade target once Aaron Rodgers returned to the Green Bay Packers but he hasn’t played enough in the NFL to be worth one first-rounder. So it couldn’t have been love.
The Texans shut down any chances of Deshaun Watson coming to Indy so it wasn’t him. Also, it has been widely reported that Indy didn’t have interest in Baker Mayfield and if there was interest, his market isn’t multiple first-round picks.
Neither is Jimmy Garoppolo’s, who is coming off shoulder surgery but is still a trade candidate for the San Francisco 49ers.
Unless one of the teams in the league is secretly shopping their young quarterback, there is only one other possible option that could fit the description that Jim Irsay described.
Kyler Murray.
Kyler Murray has to be the QB Colts almost traded for
Earlier in the offseason, there was a brief moment where Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals had some public tension. Murray had scrubbed his Instagram of all Cardinals’ content and there were reports that things were unsettled internally.
Murray and his agent ultimately released a statement saying that Murray wants to remain in Arizona but that he is also seeking a contract extension.
Murray has a year remaining on his rookie contract but also a fifth-year option that can be picked up. He’s seeking a long-term deal that secures his future with the team.
Things are currently in a good place for Murray and the Cardinals, but it’s entirely possible the Colts called Arizona during the height of the social media feud to see what it would cost to acquire Murray.
A player of his caliber can definitely command multiple first-rounders, so it has to be him. If it wasn’t Murray, it was likely someone that wasn’t worth that cost, which is why they aren’t on the Colts now.
