Colts may return from bye week with a new starting quarterback and Matt Ryan on the bench again
With the Indianapolis Colts sitting at 4-8-1, Jeff Saturday may make the decision to bench Matt Ryan and start another quarterback.
This season has been a roller coaster for everyone involved with the Indianapolis Colts but especially Matt Ryan. Ryan arrived via trade back in the spring and his presence brought immense optimism to the franchise. Ryan assumed he was getting a new lease on his career with a real chance to compete for a championship and the Colts felt Ryan was the piece they needed to be real contenders. As every now knows, that couldn’t have been further from the truth.
The partnership between Ryan and Indianapolis quickly went from a dream to a nightmare. Through 13 weeks, the Colts are just 4-8-1, they have given up a league-high 46 sacks, Ryan has thrown an NFL-leading 13 interceptions, and he also has the most fumbles in the league this season with 14. To make matters worse, Ryan was also benched for two games and even suffered a separated shoulder. Just when it seemed like Ryan and Indy were at rock bottom, they hit a new low.
Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys, the Colts entered the fourth quarter trailing 21-19 before ultimately losing 54-19. The unbelievable fourth-quarter meltdown left Indy with even more questions to answer and one of those questions is who will start at quarterback moving forward. When Jeff Saturday was asked that question postgame, he immediately stuck by Ryan but ultimately conceded that it’s something that will have to be decided as the team regroups during the bye week.
Asked Jeff Saturday if Matt Ryan will remain his starter after the bye week.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) December 5, 2022
"At this point we're riding with what we got," he initially said.
Added later, "it's 5 minutes after a beating. No decision I make now is gonna be a good decision. We got weeks to go about this."
Will the Colts bench Matt Ryan again?
Matt Ryan being benched again is a real possibility, and if it happens, no one would probably even contest this time. Through 11 games with Indianapolis, it’s pretty clear what can be expected from Ryan: some promising moments that will be interrupted by gut-wrenching turnovers. That has been the case for Ryan and the Colts all season. But, what will benching Ryan really accomplish?
Indianapolis isn’t going to be better off or more competitive with Nick Foles or Sam Ehlinger, so what would be the point of the move? If Ehlinger is named the starter again, it could be so the Colts can continue to evaluate him in real games to see if he’ll be a part of the future. If Foles is the starter, it would just be the latest of many head-scratching moves Indy has made this year.
The biggest incentive Indianapolis has to bench Ryan is money. While he is due a lot of money next season, the final year of his contract, the Colts will be able to save a few million and take a dead cap hit if they move on from him in the offseason. However, Ryan has some injury guarantees in his contract. So if he suffers a significant injury in the remaining four games, Indy will have very little opportunity to save any money. Considering how much Ryan has already been hit this season, it’s clear the Colts haven’t done a good job of protecting him, so the best protection may be not even putting Ryan on the field anymore this season.
