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USA Today via Reuters

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USA Today via Reuters

Indianapolis Colts lost against the Tennessee Titans by a score of 19-10. It surely became difficult for Matt Ryan to put on his shirt because of the injury he sustained. Then came the news that the team benched the fifteen-year veteran who has the seventh-highest passing yards in the NFL. This was an untimely decision. As a result, Ryan’s benching astonished Robert Griffin III, a former quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, who tweeted about it.

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Ryan suffered a Grade 2 separated shoulder, and Colts head coach Frank Reich confirmed the team would turn to backup quarterback Sam Ehlinger for the rest of the campaign. The action would have been taken, according to Reich, even without the injuries.

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Benching Matt Ryan raised awareness of the Colts’ QB’s erratic performance

However, Griffin’s tweet brings out the pattern that the Indianapolis Colts could never find their perfect QB. They changed their roster.

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Before Ryan, they had the likes of Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers, and Carson Wentz play as the lead shot-caller for them. According to Sportrac, since the abrupt retirement of  #12, the Colts have given $145 million in cash to 12 different quarterbacks since 2018.

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Andrew Luck had been considering retiring for the previous two weeks before his official date of retirement in August 2019. It was because his ankle soreness wouldn’t go away. Only two years had passed since persistent shoulder problems cost him his 2017 season. He felt exhausted and fatigued as a result of the chronic agony from the ankle injury.

Before the shoulder injury, the 33-year-old struggled with rib and shoulder problems for the whole of 2015 and 2016. After recovering from a shoulder injury in 2018, Luck threw for a career-high 4,593 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions, enough for a passer rating of 98.7.

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Is this it for the MVP QB?

This season did not fare well for #2. It’s impossible to imagine Ryan recovering from this, even once his shoulder heals, barring an injury to Ehlinger.

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Averaging 16.1, the Colts’ offense has been among the league’s poorest performers. Ryan also has the most interceptions in the NFL with nine. Ryan’s lack of protection from the Colts, whose once-dominant offensive line has failed, is not all his responsibility. The Colts are also 29th in the NFL in terms of rushing yards per carry (3.5). Around Ryan, there has been no infrastructure. However, Ryan was unable to overcome it, and as a result, the offense is operating at an unsustainable pace.

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Written by

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Neha Joshi

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Neha Joshi is an NFL writer at Essentially Sports. She is currently pursuing her postgraduate degree in English Literature from R.D National College, Mumbai and has also previously worked as a Graduate Intern at Jacobs. Her favorite athlete is football superstar Tom Brady, whom she finds immensely motivating. The following quote by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback is among her most treasured ones: "If you don't play to win, don't play at all", which more often than not inspires her to excel in every pursuit she takes up! When away from work, Neha indulges herself in browsing through Realistic English, Post Structuralist American, and Modern Indian Literature.

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Deepika Bhaduri

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