Matt Ryan traded to Colts: Falcons sending former NFL MVP to Indianapolis for third-round pick
Those questions have now been answered by the Falcons, who have struck a deal with the Colts to send the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback to Indy as the 2022 replacement for Carson Wentz in exchange for a 2022 third-round pick, CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora has confirmed.
The two sides have reportedly been in talks with the Colts ever since hearing news of Watson's decision, if not a bit before, but there was much to hash out in the negotiations. After pushing back Ryan's guaranteed roster bonus of $7.5 million -- which was three days ago but postponed to Monday as the Falcons awaited Watson's decision to allow for a possible trade of Ryan -- they had until 4 p.m. ET to either ship Ryan out of Atlanta or pay him what's due.
Pick Six Newsletter
Get the day's big stories + fun stuff you love like mock drafts, picks and power rankings.
By submitting my email I agree to receive the "Pick Six Newsletter" and other marketing and promotional emails from CBS Sports, which may include information from our affiliates and/or partners' offers, products and services. For more information about our data practices consult our Privacy Policy
Additionally, from an overall standpoint, Ryan is owed a total of $23.75 million in cash next season and, if the contract remains as-is, the Falcons will be forced to eat a gargantuan sum of $40.5 million in dead money if this trade is made with no changes to the current deal. It remains to be seen if the Colts have agreed to take on any of that hit, but more details on the specifics of the trade will provide clarity in that regard.
Making things a bit more complex is the fact the Colts weren't the only suitors for Ryan, with CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora also noting the Seattle Seahawks were working to win the race for the former NFL MVP. The Seahawks are hot off of their own NFL blockbuster, namely the trade of Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos for a package that included quarterback Drew Lock, and it would be interesting to see if Lock is sent to the Falcons, originally penciled in publicly as QB1 for next season but, in actuality, becoming yet another potential asset to include in a subsequent trade.
There's also another wrinkle to all of this, and that's Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield, who released a not-so-veiled goodbye letter ahead of the trade for Watson, initially demanded a trade when Watson told the Browns they were out of the sweepstakes, but Cleveland handed him a firm "no" before later landing Watson and telling Mayfield he was free to find a trade partner. Rumor has it Mayfield was eyeing the Colts as his top landing spot, but having landed Ryan, will it now push Mayfield to Atlanta ... or Seattle ... and, if it's the latter, would Lock then find his way to the former ??
In what's been a whirlwind first few days of 2022 NFL free agency, the latest falling domino -- i.e., Ryan -- is now set to push the remaining ones over as well.
https://sites.google.com/view/boomidiadeal/home
https://webflow.com/boomidiadeal
Comments
Post a Comment