The Indianapolis Colts landed their quarterback in Matt Ryan, another veteran signal caller looking for an opportunity to reach the Super Bowl. With the addition of Ryan, the Colts have an opportunity to compete for the AFC South title and compete in a loaded conference.
There’s only one issue: Indianapolis doesn’t have many wide receiver options outside of Michael Pittman. Zach Pascal signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and T.Y. Hilton is a free agent (and is coming off a career-low in receptions and receiving yards). There’s a massive need to upgrade.
Odell Beckham Jr. could be an addition for the Colts, as the Super Bowl champion wideout endorsed Ryan’s arrival in Indianapolis. Could the Colts be enticing to Beckham now?
Beckham turned his 2021 season around since signing with the Rams after an ugly breakup from the Browns, recording 27 catches for 305 yards and five touchdowns in eight games. He had 21 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns in four postseason games, and recorded two catches for 52 yards and a touchdown in Super Bowl LVI before going down with a knee injury.
Whenever Beckham returns to the field is uncertain, but the Colts could have a legitimate pass-catching option on the outside to complement Michael Pittman if he were to sign there. The possibilities with Ryan are endless, especially given his status amongst his peers.
Ryan has thrown for 59,735 passing yards in his career, the eighth-most in NFL history. He needs 4,354 yards to surpass Ben Roethlisberger for fifth in NFL history, which he could reach during the 2022 season. Ryan’s 367 passing touchdowns are ninth all time, 83 behind Aaron Rodgers for fifth. He needs just 33 touchdown passes to become the eighth player to reach 400 for his career.
Ryan has the most passing yards through a player’s first 14 seasons in league history. Ryan and Drew Brees are the only players to have 10 consecutive seasons of 4,000 yards passing — coincidentally all have come with Julio Jones in the fold. Perhaps Jones — a free agent — could join Ryan in Indianapolis?
The possibilities are endless with Ryan under center. Beckham may be the first to test the waters — or at least stick his feet in the pool.
