According to sports.yahoo.com, Matt Ryan is dealing with an injured shoulder, however, that isn’t why the Colts decided to make a switch at quarterback in week 8. The colts announced on Monday after losing to the Tennessee Titans, that Ryan wouldn’t start. Ryan has been benched and the team will turn to Sam Ehlinger as quarterback. Colts coach Frank Reich said that the move would have happened if Ryan was injured or not and the plan is for him to start for the remainder of the season.
Ryan was the Colt’s latest attempt at curing their quarterback problem in the post Andrew Luck era. They traded for the longtime Atlanta Falcons quarterback in the offseason, Ryan currently lead the NFL with nine interceptions and also leads the NFL with 11 fumbles. He threw a pick six on Sunday against the Titans in a loss that brought the Colts to 3-3-1.
Ehlinger will start against the Washington Commanders, with Nick Foles as the backup, according to Reich. Ehlinger ha sonly appeared in three NFL games and has never thrown a pass in the regular season. Ehlinger was a sixth round draft pick in the 2021 draft out of Texas. He will replace a quarterback who has 61,743 yards in 229 career games. Ryan has started every NFL game that he has appeared in. Ryan ended up being traded after the Falcons pursued Deshaun Watson in the offseason and Ryan showed his displeasure with the move. Indianapolis ended up trading a third round draft pick for him.
The Colts guaranteed $12 million of Ryan’s contract for 2023, it would be an $18 million cap hit to release him. The Colts officially seemed to have moved on from Ryan.
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