Atlanta Falcons trade quarterback Matt Ryan to Colts, acquire Marcus Mariota

Soon after the Atlanta Falcons traded Matt Ryan, its starting quarterback for the past 14 seasons, to the Indianapolis Colts, the team signed Marcus Mariota to a two-year deal.

Colts revive Super Bowl hopes by agreeing Ryan trade

The Indianapolis Colts are Super Bowl contenders again after agreeing to trade for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan on Monday.

Indy sends a third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft to Atlanta in return for the 36-year-old Ryan, who even now provides an instant answer to the Colts’ problems at the game’s most important position.

After trading what ultimately proved to be a first-round pick to Philadelphia for Carson Wentz in early 2021, the Colts gave up on that experiment after just one season when Wentz was traded to Washington.

Now the Colts are ‘swinging for the fences’ again in a bid to find the answer at QB, by sending a third-round pick to Atlanta for Ryan, who won NFL MVP honours back in 2016.

Super Bowl 57 Outright winner odds (via Sky Bet)

• 13/2 - Buffalo Bills
• 7/1 - Kansas City Chiefs
• 10/1 - LA Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• 12/1 - Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers
• 14/1 - Denver Broncos
• 16/1 - Dallas Cowboys, LA Chargers

Odds correct at 0805 (22/03/22)

Falcons failed in Deshaun Watson chase

The Falcons meanwhile get themselves out of a pretty awkward situation with long-time starter Ryan. Last week Atlanta made a public bid to woo Deshaun Watson, and when that failed there was a hot mess to clean up.

Now ‘Matty Ice’ gets a new start and Atlanta moves into full rebuild mode. The Falcons needed to make a trade before 4pm ET (9pm UK) on Monday to avoid another $7.5million being added to Ryan’s already astronomical salary cap hit for 2022.

Atlanta will still be saddled with $40million in dead money by trading Ryan, but at least the team gets some draft capital in return and it allows Ryan to move on with two years remaining on his current contract. The Falcons moved swiftly to find a replacement by agreeing to a two-year deal with former Titan and Raider Marcus Mariota.

Colts blew playoff hopes in 2021

Indianapolis lost its final two games in 2021 to somehow miss out on a playoff berth. Wentz in particular imploded during a shocking Week 18 loss in Jacksonville, which confirmed the team’s elimination. It also apparently convinced Indy to move on from the former Eagle.

Now a team with a stellar offensive line and running game keyed by Jonathan Taylor has a legitimate starter at quarterback too. A team with a Super Bowl-ready roster can start to have Super Bowl aspirations once again.

Ryan was drafted number 3 overall by the Falcons back in 2008, and almost led the team to a Super Bowl title in early 2017. That golden Atlanta generation though never really recovered from blowing a 28-3 second-half lead against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.