Matt Ryan Reveals What Led To Trade From Falcons

In perhaps one of the NFL’s most surprising offseason moves, the Atlanta Falcons sent Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts.

The four-time Pro Bowler had spent 14 seasons with the franchise that drafted him in 2008. He seemed poised to stick around for at least one more before the Falcons reassessed their future, but that timetable changed once they pursued Deshaun Watson.

On “The Ryen Russillo Podcast” hosted by The Ringer (h/t Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk), Ryan explained that Atlanta’s interest in replacing him with Watson led the franchise fixture to reconsider his situation.

“When free agency starts to pick up and they start to look into what they want to do, I kind of got filled into the loop that they were going to look into Deshaun Watson,” Ryan said. “And then at that point, I said, OK, I understand. But I also need to look into what I need to look into. And if this doesn’t go down, find out if this is probably still the best fit for me.”

Although the Houston Texans sent Watson to the Cleveland Browns, Ryan still requested the opportunity to explore other options. He said it “worked out perfectly on my end” when the Colts acquired the 36-year-old for a third-round pick, which the Falcons used on Western Kentucky linebacker DeAngelo Malone.

Ryan told Russillo that he’d probably still be in Atlanta had the Falcons not entered the Watson sweepstakes. The quarterback initially appeared to narrow down his finalists to the Falcons and Saints before the Browns swooped in with a record-setting contract.

“Had none of this gone down? There’s probably a chance — a pretty good chance,” Ryan said. “But it did, you know? So when it does, when the situations change and the circumstances change… You know, I had always thought, like everybody, when you’re drafted there, and you play there, this is where I’m going to play my entire career. For 14 years, every day I woke up, it was to try and help the Falcons win a championship. And that had been reciprocated on the other end for me. And so when that changed, I had to look into it.”

The Watson saga has caused widespread ramifications across the NFL. Baker Mayfield also requested a trade from the Browns the day before they acquired Watson. Indianapolis was reportedly his preferred landing spot before the Colts instead acquired Ryan.

Atlanta later signed Marcus Mariota, who is expected to open a rebuilding season as the team’s starter. Ryan, meanwhile, will look to guide a stable Colts roster into the playoffs.

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