INDIANAPOLIS – After a disappointing season that pressured him to confront new and humbling realities, you may count on Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Ryan to fortunately embrace the concept of retirement.

However even after being traded from the one workforce he’d ever identified (the Atlanta Falcons), being benched twice in Indianapolis and receiving no assurances about his future, Ryan left the door to enjoying a 16^th season.

“I nonetheless love enjoying,” Ryan mentioned after the Colts’ 4-12-1 season ended. “I’m clearly not dedicated to something. Received to see the way it shakes out. However I nonetheless love enjoying and nonetheless really feel like, actually, there’s loads of good soccer [left]. So, we’ll see.”

On the similar time, Ryan can be a realist.

That appeared evident from his determination to hitch the CBS pregame studio crew previous to the divisional playoffs, a potential preview of a postcareer choice that is likely to be obtainable to Ryan. He regarded snug on the set, giving tv executives one thing to consider ought to he elect to give up enjoying and assume the profitable function of former-quarterback-turned-broadcaster.

Ryan, 37, is excellent about holding issues near the vest, and that is still true with regards to revealing his future intentions. However we all know this a lot about Ryan’s subsequent transfer: It doesn’t seem like imminent.

There are a number of causes for this. The primary, as Ryan indicated, is that he’s not but clear on what he needs to do.

However there’s one other essential element that can inform what Ryan in the end decides: The ball is definitely within the Colts’ court docket.

“[Kyle Shanahan] does an excellent job of asking [Brock Purdy] to play inside his skillset.”@M_Ryan02 is impressed together with his former offensive coordinator & his rising star QB in San Francisco. pic.twitter.com/nWTwHcZbwm

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 22, 2023

As a result of Ryan is beneath contract and is owed a major sum of cash this spring, the sensible enterprise transfer for him is to do precisely what he’s doing proper now – nothing.

“I’m beneath contract, and till that adjustments, you form of go to work,” he mentioned. “There’s quite a bit that’s going to occur right here within the subsequent six, eight weeks, no matter it’s. Let’s see.”

There’s loads of complexity to Ryan’s contractual state of affairs.

Because the Colts restructured his contract after executing the commerce with Atlanta, Indianapolis pushed appreciable ensures into 2023. Already, $12 million of Ryan’s greater than $29 million in 2023 compensation is assured. It could behoove Ryan to stay beneath contract and let the Colts make the primary transfer earlier than making any selections of his personal. That will guarantee he will get the cash he’s owed. From a enterprise perspective, retirement is the flawed transfer for Ryan — except and till the Colts determine to maneuver on and launch him first.

Releasing Ryan would offer the Colts with $17 million in money and cap financial savings.

However the state of affairs is just not solely advanced from a contract perspective. There are different complicating components for the Colts, like whether or not it makes some sense to retain Ryan as a backstop to a possible rookie quarterback.

The Colts have the fourth general decide within the NFL draft and are broadly anticipated to pick out one of many high quarterbacks obtainable, a bunch that features Alabama’s Bryce Younger, Ohio State’s CJ Stroud and Kentucky’s Will Levis. Whether or not present Colts quarterback Sam Ehlinger might fill the function as a veteran to accompany the presumed rookie stays to be seen.

However the Colts, it appears, haven’t closed the door on Ryan.

His 2022 season was undoubtedly ugly. Ryan ranked 25^th in QBR (43.1) and 28^th in yards per try (6.6). He additionally threw 13 interceptions, sixth-most within the NFL. However when reflecting on Ryan’s play after the season, normal supervisor Chris Ballard stored an open thoughts.

“[This season] is just not an indictment on Matt Ryan,” Ballard mentioned. “Matt Ryan is as skilled a participant that I’ve ever been round. I nonetheless assume he’s received one thing left in his physique to play. He’s sensible, is aware of tips on how to play the sport.

“Trying again, early within the season we had some adjustments to the offensive line, and that’s the place our struggles occurred early and we simply by no means actually recovered from them. It took us some time to get some continuity. I most likely underestimated that.”

The Colts entered the season with excessive hopes for Ryan after his run in Atlanta, and like most, have been shocked at how poorly it went. Requested what went flawed, one workforce supply pointed to Ryan’s incapability to belief his safety early within the season as a significant component.

However that particular person additionally cited a miscalculation by the Colts in projecting how shortly Ryan would adapt to an offense that was markedly completely different from these through which he’d beforehand performed. Ryan’s rapid predecessors – Philip Rivers and Carson Wentz – had spent a number of seasons with former Colts coach Frank Reich on earlier groups, giving them a essential basis that Ryan didn’t have.

Is there sufficient context to justify bringing Ryan again? We’ll see. However preserve this in thoughts: If the Colts have been to go on the open market and purchase a unique veteran quarterback, they’d nonetheless be on the hook for a minimum of $12 million with Ryan along with paying no matter their new quarterback instructions.

However for now, the Colts have a training search to resolve earlier than some other consequential selections are made. And whereas the workforce hashes all of it out, Ryan intends to maintain his distance from soccer even whereas protecting the potential of enjoying subsequent season on the desk.

“I feel all of us,” he mentioned, “want a bit of little bit of a break.”