The Colts will have a new quarterback this week.
Head coach Frank Reich announced that Sam Ehlinger will start for the Colts in Sunday’s home game against the Commanders. Reich also said that Matt Ryan has a a Grade 2 shoulder separation that will keep him from practicing or playing this week, but he made it clear that the decision to go to Ehlinger was not because of Ryan’s injury.
“Right now the move is for Sam to be the starter for the rest of the season,” Reich said, via the team’s website.
The Colts traded for Ryan this offseason and added guarantees to the final two years of his contract as they talked about having him run their offense beyond the 2022 season, but Ryan has a league-high nine interceptions to go with 11 fumbles through the first seven games of his run with the team. Given that investment, it’s not surprising that Reich said at his Monday press conference that team owner Jim Irsay and General Manager Chris Ballard were also involved in the decision to make Ehlinger the starter moving forward.
Ehlinger was a sixth-round pick last year who recently jumped Nick Foles for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart. Reich said he thinks Ehlinger brings “special sauce” to the offense and they’ll get a chance to see it in action this weekend.
