Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Ryan has been benched with an injury, and he’s being replaced by a shocking option.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Ryan has been benched with a grade-2 sprain to his right shoulder, and he’s reportedly going to be benched for the rest of the season. The Colts are going to have Sam Ehlinger start instead, a decision that isn’t all that surprising to those who cover the Colts. According to Ian Rapoport and other NFL insiders, the Colts were planning to make the switch regardless of Ryan’s injury.
Frank Reich: Matt Ryan with grade-2 sprain to right shoulder.
— Mike Chappell (@mchappell51) October 24, 2022
Move to Ehlinger would have occurred anyway.
Plan is for Sam to start rest of season
To clarify: the Colts are making the switch at QB regardless of Matt Ryan's injury. The plan, as of now, is for Sam Ehlinger to be the starting quarterback the rest of the season.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) October 24, 2022
From NFL Now: The #Colts bench Matt Ryan, and the shoulder injury wasn’t why. pic.twitter.com/8MoYzNmZOG
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 24, 2022
Ehlinger is a shocking option to some because he doesn’t have much NFL experience. He was drafted in 2021 as a sixth-round pick and has only played in three games total in his career, all of which were in 2021. Remarkably, Ehlinger has yet to throw a pass in a regular season NFL game.
Scouts and coaches loved Sam Ehlinger’s toughness and makeup coming out of Texas in 2021. Can he throw it well enough to be an NFL starter? We’re about to find out, as he takes over as the #Colts starter.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 24, 2022
Ehlinger has yet to throw a pass in an NFL regular-season game. pic.twitter.com/dQrioLDEKj
Ryan played for the Atlanta Falcons from 2008 through 2021 before joining Indianapolis this season, and he’s racked up an overall completion percentage of 65.6 with 61,743 passing yards and 376 touchdowns.
Taking a chance on Ehlinger illustrates just how little the Colts have to work with, as Ryan is “simply not getting it done on the field,” as Rapoport put it. Describing the offense as a “mess”, Rapoport also noted that “clearly, Ryan is struggling to make some of the throws.” The Colts continued their quarterback carousel by bringing in the veteran passer, but at this point, teh unproven Ehlinger is worth starting over Ryan. After all, Ehlinger could be a prodigy sixth-round pick like Tom Brady if given the chance to develop this season.
Best memes and Tweets about Colts new starting QB Sam Ehlinger
The Pat McAfee Show did not disappoint in their overjoyed reaction to hearing that Ehlinger would be starting for the Colts.
BREAKING: Sam Ehlinger will start for the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday#PMSOverreactionMonday pic.twitter.com/FrBqcVUBEi
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 24, 2022
“The world needs Sam Ehlinger,” McAfee declared.
But McAfee’s affinity for the new Colts quarterback isn’t shared by everyone who follows the team, as there are a few mixed reactions on Ehlinger. One fan made a humorous tweet with a photo of a toy tank and wrote, “Colts unveil their new logo after announcing Sam Ehlinger as starter.”
Colts unveil their new logo after announcing Sam Ehlinger as starter pic.twitter.com/YzhQVsMpZm
— Alex (@furorceltica88) October 24, 2022
One is calling out Michael Reich for being desperate. They wrote, “I’m Sorry, Sam Ehlinger should not be a starting NFL QB. Reich is getting desperate.”
I'm Sorry, Sam Ehlinger should not be a starting NFL QB. Reich is getting desperate.
— Phil (@KirkMagic) October 24, 2022
Frank Reich starting Sam Ehlinger to save his job pic.twitter.com/rl0GifIURK
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) October 24, 2022
Another is simply confused as to why the Colts are benching a veteran quarterback for the rest of the season for Ehlinger. The fan wrote, “Colts what we doin benching Matt Ryan for Sam Ehlinger.”
Colts what we doin benching matt ryan for Sam Ehlinger 😹
— Harmz (@Harmz2k) October 24, 2022
The Matt Ryan benching was inevitable. I think the most shocking thing about this story is that Sam Ehlinger beat out Nick Foles for the starting gig.
— Dave Kluge (@DaveKluge) October 24, 2022
For those who haven’t followed Ehlinger’s career closely, NFL analyst Derrik Klassen offered a useful comparison.
Sam Ehlinger is like if Jalen Hurts was very bad. Hope this helps.
— Derrik Klassen (@QBKlass) October 24, 2022
Others were excited to see Ehlinger take on the starting role.
Notes on new #Colts starting QB Sam Ehlinger.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 24, 2022
Ehlinger was 6th round pick in 2021. During the pre-season this year he was terrific, going 24 of 29 passing (83%) for 289 yards with 4 TDs.
He also ran for 71 more yards.pic.twitter.com/CSKPDcwXWj
Sam Ehlinger, on regaining a starter rolepic.twitter.com/HSJ4JCdhAP
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) October 24, 2022
One of the reasons Sam Ehlinger's impressed so many in the building: the way he understands the game. Asked him last spring how he'd grade a QB coming out of college, and thought his response was really freaking impressive: pic.twitter.com/CkWJLwaWnp
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) October 24, 2022
To the rest of the league:
— Barstool Indy (@barstoolindy) October 24, 2022
This is your first and only warning of what our new QB1 Sam Ehlinger can do out there. pic.twitter.com/SKtiKOTLZN
Bringing in Ehlinger may not be the best choice, but only time will tell how this will play out in Indianapolis.