Matt Ryan’s time with the Colts has earned him a title that no player wants
After Matt Ryan joined the Indianapolis Colts with high expectations, NFL experts are already calling the experiment a disappointment.
This offseason, the Indianapolis Colts traded for veteran quarterback Matt Ryan and many people throughout the NFL world were excited about what could come from the partnership. Ryan was entering his 15th season with a little left in the tank and needed to be surrounded by a good team and Indy was that good team, with several Pro Bowl players on each side of the ball. However, things don’t always go according to plan.
Through the first five weeks of the season, the Colts have been struggling. They enter Week 6 at 2-2-1 and have had some embarrassing performances. The defense has been playing well but offensively, with Matt Ryan at the helm, Indy is averaging a league-worst 13.8 points a game. A big part of that is the struggling offensive line. Another major factor, however, has been Matt Ryan’s inability to protect the football.
Throwing a league-high seven interceptions and also leading the NFL in fumbles with 11, Matt Ryan hasn’t been able to live up to the offseason hype that was generated when the Colts traded for him. For that reason, NFL analyst Marc Ross has named Ryan one of the most disappointing offseason acquisitions of 2022.
Matt Ryan considered a big disappointment for Colts
In an article looking at the eight most disappointing offseason moves, Ryan was named along with seven other players who are off to bad starts with their new teams. For Ryan, Marc Ross talked about how he’s been unable to deliver on all of the offseason optimism.
Ross didn’t mince words. He said that “Ryan looks washed,” and also that the quarterback has little to no escapability, which doesn’t help behind Indy’s struggling offensive line. Additionally, Ross used stats to show that even when Ryan isn’t under pressure, he still struggles, saying, “In last week’s ugly win over Denver, Ryan was 15-of-26 for 118 yards with two interceptions and had a 37.0 passer rating when not under pressure, according to Next Gen Stats.”
Ross concluded his point by saying that for the most part, when veteran quarterbacks start to decline, there’s no getting the good days back. So ultimately, things may not be getting any better for Ryan and the Colts.
It’s hard to argue with any of Ross’ points. A lot of Ryan’s play has been inexcusable, even with the bad offensive line play. However, he has had some big moments, engineering a couple of late comebacks. While Ryan may not be the quarterback that many anticipated this offseason, all hope isn’t lost for him or the Colts. They currently sit in second place in the AFC South and are only one win back out of first place.
The biggest challenge for Indy is fixing the offensive line. Even with the offense struggling, Indy has found a way to generate scores in clutch moments and also hang in games. It’s not foolish to think that the team will get a little better each week and be in the mix for the division at the end of the season. If the Colts are able to pull a division championship out and go to the playoffs, Ryan’s time in Indy wouldn’t be considered that big of a disappointment.
