How Long Will The Colts Commit To Matt Ryan?

The Indianapolis Colts are married to new QB Matt Ryan for the next two years. After that, they can begin seeing other people. At least that's the message that Indy GM Chris Ballard shared on Monday.

After gushing about Ryan, 36, to the media, Ballard laid out the team’s future plans at the game’s most important position.

“I wanted to make sure Matt knew that there’s no doubt it’s going to be two years," Ballard said, via the Indianapolis Star.

Ryan is currently under contract through 2023 with a cap number of more than $35 million.

As committed and excited about Ryan as the Colts presently are, they may have eyes for a younger gunslinger in the not-so-distant future. Ryan will be 39 after the conclusion of the 2023 campaign, at which point, a conscious uncoupling may begin.

“And I think we’ll go from there. I think we’ll know,” Ballard told Colts reporter Joel Erickson. “I think both parties will know as we move forward.”

In other words, the Ryans should look into renting, rather than buying in Indianapolis.

To be fair, the team has been as transparent as possible with Ryan. Yes, they believe he can lead them to a Super Bowl. And yes, they’re fully committed to him for now. But plugging in another seasoned QB means two more years without youth or stability.

The team is aware that their situation may soon change and have promised to be honest with Ryan throughout the process.

“If we decided to make a move on a quarterback, that’s definitely a conversation we would have (with Ryan)," added Ballard, via Erickson. “In the world that I’ve been living in since Andrew retired, the whole organization, it’d be nice to get some stability where we have a guy for two, three, four years that can play and give us some continuity.”

Sounds like an open relationship.

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