Matt Ryan Robert Scheer/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

Colts releasing Matt Ryan, paving way for QB selection in draft

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 3/14/23

The Indianapolis Colts revolving door at quarterback is set to take another turn. Hopefully for them it leads to a more permanent solution this time around.

The Colts are expected to release veteran quarterback Matt Ryan, which should set the stage for a quarterback selection with their top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Ryan was the latest stop-gap solution for the Colts that badly failed in the wake of Andrew Luck's sudden retirement several years ago. In the seasons since the Colts have gone from Luck, to Jacoby Brissett, to Phillip Rivers, to Carson Wentz, to Ryan, and none of them provided any sort of stability at the position.

What makes Ryan's release and failure even more damaging to the Colts is that when they acquired him from the Atlanta Falcons they added a $12 million bonus to his contract for 2023 that gets paid to him no matter what he does.

As part of the #Colts trade to acquire QB Matt Ryan, his agent negotiated a new contract that included a $12M guarantee in 2023 that was not in his previous contract. Ryan remains entitled to the $12M regardless of what he decides to do this season. Amazing.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 14, 2023

The only good news for the Colts? The trade for Ryan and the 2022 season turned into such a mess that the Colts finished bad enough to position themselves to draft a quarterback at the top of the 2023 class. That recipe is really the only thing that has kept the Colts competitive in the Jim Irsay era.

Indianapolis owns the No. 4 pick in the draft which should put them in position to land one of the classes top quarterback prospects.

Carolina (No. 1) and Houston (No. 2) figure to both select quarterbacks, with Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud being the most likely candidates for those spots. That would leave the Colts with the option of either Kentucky's Will Levis or Florida's Anthony Richardson.

Neither quarterback is a sure-fire, can't-miss superstar, but both have enormous potential and the type of talent that will make them enticing prospects for a quarterback-needy team (like the Colts) at the top of the draft.

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