Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot says that doing right by Matt Ryan was more important to the franchise than getting the best return in a trade for the quarterback.

The Falcons dealt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts for a third-round pick this year.

"It was more important to us to do right by Matt than to try to maximize compensation," Fontenot said. "We could have probably traded Matt to somewhere he didn't want to be and gotten more. We said, 'If we're going to go down this road, we want to do right by Matt.'"

The Indianapolis Colts have acquired Matt Ryan from the Atlanta Falcons for a 2022 third round pick.

The Colts were desperate for a quarterback after they traded Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders for third-round picks in 2022 and 2023. 

Ryan will be the fifth starting quarterback in Frank Reich's tenure. The Colts have been looking for a long-term answer since Andrew Luck retired in August 2019. 

The trade will leave a dead-money charge of $40.525 million on the Falcons' salary cap this season. 

The Indianapolis Colts are attempting to acquire Matt Ryan from the Atlanta Falcons.

The Colts are searching for a new quarterback after trading away Carson Wentz.

The Falcons tried to trade for Deshaun Watson last week, which put the future of Ryan in question.

Deshaun Watson has narrowed his list of potential teams to the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, eliminating both the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers on Thursday.

The Houston Texans are preparing to trade Watson this offseason after his legal status made that an impossibility in 2021.

The Falcons have delayed a roster bonus for Matt Ryan until Monday in order to accommodate a potential trade for Watson.

Watson grew up in the Atlanta area and was a ballboy for the Falcons as a youth.

The Atlanta Falcons will meet with Deshaun Watson on Wednesday, according to sources.

The Falcons are the fourth team to meet with Watson about a possible trade, following the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns.

Each team has made a trade offer for Watson prior to the meetings.

Calvin Ridley has been suspended by the NFL for one year for betting on games during the 2021 season.

A league investigation uncovered no evidence of any inside information used by Ridley.

The activity took place during a five-day period in late November 2021 while Ridley was not with the Atlanta Falcons and was away from the club's facility on the non-football illness list.