Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich made a stunning announcement Monday to reporters. According to The Athletic’s Zak Keefer, the Colts have benched veteran quarterback Matt Ryan. Sam Ehlinger will start for the remainder of the season, starting with Week 8’s matchup against the Washington Commanders.
Ryan is dealing with a Grade 2 shoulder sprain and will not practice this week. However, Keefer clarifies that the change at quarterback would have happened regardless of Ryan’s injury status.
Nick Foles will serve as the No. 2 quarterback behind Ehlinger.
The Commanders-Colts matchup had a lot of promise on paper before the season started. The Colts traded last year’s starting quarterback Carson Wentz to the Commanders back in March. The Colts moved on from Wentz one year after they traded multiple draft picks, including a first-round pick, to acquire Wentz from the Philadelphia Eagles.
In return, the Colts traded a third-round draft pick to the Atlanta Falcons for Matt Ryan. As part of the trade agreement, the Colts restricted the final two years of Ryan’s existing contract to give him more guaranteed money on his remaining $53.9 million.
But Ryan’s first seven games have been more of a disaster than Wentz’s late-season flop.
Ryan leads the league with 209 pass attempts. He completed 68.4% of his passes and tossed nine touchdowns. However, he leads the NFL with nine interceptions and has gotten sacked a league-high 24 times. As a result, the Colts have a 3-3-1 record.
Reich admitted the Colts didn’t hold up to their end of the bargain for Ryan saying, “We didn’t deliver,” according to Keefer.
Wentz won’t be on the field either on Sunday in Indianapolis. Wentz suffered a fractured right ring finger in Week 6. Washington placed Wentz on injured reserve on Saturday, requiring him to miss at least four games. He missed the Commanders’ Week 7 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Instead of the highly-anticipated Wentz vs. Ryan matchup, it will be Taylor Heinicke vs. Sam Ehlinger.
