The AFC got stronger at the quarterback position once again on Monday.The Falcons and the Colts agreed to a trade that will send longtime Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan to Indianapolis for a 2022 third-round pick. News of the trade was first reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Tom Peli sero and Mike Garafolo.Trade!! The are in agreement on a trade of QB Matt Ryan to the , per , and me. ATL gets a 3rd back.Fallout from the Deshaun Watson situation, with Ryan starting over in Indy. Ryan gets a contract adjustment with more guaranteed money. Ian Rapoport (@ Danny Green Jersey RapSheet) Ryan, 36, spent the first 14 seasons of his career with the Falcons. He was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft out of Boston College and became one of the NFL's steadiest starters. He threw for at least 4,000 pa sing yards in four straight seasons and made it to four Pro Bowls during his time with the Falcons.In 2016, Ryan was named league MVP and led the Falcons to the Super Bowl, where they famously lost that game by blowing a 28-3 third-quarter lead to the Patriots. Since then, they have made it back to the playoffs just once in five seasons.Now, Ryan will hope to return to the postseason with the Colts, who mi sed out last season but believe themselves to be a quarterback away from being a contender.Who won the Matt Ryan trade? From the early looks of it, Indianapolis ended up on the right side of this deal.MORE: Colts receive:QB Matt RyanFalcons receive:2022 third-round pickColts grade: BWe can bemoan Ben Simmons Jersey the fact that the Colts have had a different starting quarterback each year since Andrew Luck shockingly retired ahead of the 2019 NFL season. They have had turnover at the position and had a big swing and mi s on the Carson Wentz trade just last offseason.Still, the Colts are getting a good deal by getting Ryan for only a third-round pick. He well may be the best quarterback they have had since Luck retired. You could make a case for Philip Rivers being better, but Ryan has a bit more zip on his pa ses now than Rivers did during his time with the Colts. As such, Ryan should be an upgrade for Indianapolis.Ryan also didn't cost much compared to other pa sers on the market. He even cost le s than the package that the Colts received from Washington in exchange for Wentz, who netted the team two third-round picks and a pick-swap in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Wentz may be younger than Ryan, but the former Falcons starter is far more consistent than the mercurial Wentz.This isn't a perfect trade for the Colts by any means. After all, Ryan turns 37 in May and he posted the third-lowest air yards per attempt figure of his career in 2021. He could bounce back with better blocking and remaining indoors at home is a plus for him but his skill set could continue to decline as he ages.The bigger i sue is about whether Paul Reed Jersey this makes the Colts true contenders in the AFC. Can they win the AFC South? Sure, they have the talent needed to do that. However, it's not guaranteed, and even if they win their division, can they compete with the likes of the Chiefs, Bengals, Bills, Chargers and Broncos in the playoffs? That's a major question mark.Ultimately, the deal is still a solid one for the Colts. Ryan is an upgrade for them and they didn't give up much to land him. However, Julius Erving Jersey the Colts aren't instant contenders after making this deal, so it's not a slam dunk. And if Ryan regre ses, Indy could find itself back at the drawing board for a fifth consecutive offseason.IYER: Falcons grade: FIf you were looking for a crash course in howto manage an offseason, look no further than the 2022 Atlanta Falcons.The Falcons spent the first week of free agency pursuing Deshaun Watson. They were one of four finalists for the embattled quarterback, but he went to the Browns instead. That left Atlanta hoping that Matt Ryan would want to remain with them despite their open courtship of Watson.Well, turns out that didn't happen. , so the Falcons offloaded him. All they could get for their troubles was a third-round pick. That's a far cry from what coach Arthur Smith previously said it would take to land Ryan ahead of the 2022 NFL Combine."We anticipate Matt being part of the team, but you don't ever back yourself into a corner," Smith said in early March, per. "If someone gives you an offer you can't refuse Matt knows how we feel about him. Matt has a lot of good football left in him."The Falcons don't have anything at the quarterback position without Ryan. Their lone player under contract after trading Ryan was Feleipe Franks, who was an undrafted free agent out of Arkansas in 2021. They quickly changed that by , Michael Carter-Williams Jersey but that doesn't eliminate the long-term questions they have at quarterback.Perhaps the team will addre s that by targeting a rookie quarterback like Malik Willis or Kenny Pickett in the 2022 NFL Draft. That said, the draft cla s is thought to be weak at the position, so Atlanta could wait to addre s the position until the following offseason.All told, the Falcons' pursuit of Watson backfired in a big way. They didn't have a ready-made succe sion plan for Ryan, so they will have to scramble to set one up after trading him. And they certainly didn't get a lot in return for their long-time starter.