Indianapolis Colts, the Patriots’ Week 9 opponent, have benched starting quarterback Matt Ryan

While the New England Patriots are preparing for their upcoming Monday night game against the Chicago Bears, one of their future opponents has made major move. The Indianapolis Colts, who will visit Gillette Stadium in Week 9, have benched starting quarterback Matt Ryan for the remainder of the season.

Colts head coach Frank Reich announced the decision on Monday. In Ryan’s place, second-year man Sam Ehlinger will take over as the team’s starter.

Ryan, 37, arrived in Indianapolis earlier this year. The long-time Atlanta Falcons started was acquired via trade in exchange for a third-round selection in this year’s draft, and led the team’s offense through the first seven weeks of the season.

He and the Colts offense struggled, however, and are ranked just 29th in the NFL with an average of 16.1 points per game. A 19-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Ryan is therefore now headed to the bench with a season-long completion rate of 68.4 percent, 2,008 passing yards, nine touchdowns and nine interceptions in seven games. Those numbers point only part of the picture, though. The veteran QB has also fumbled the ball a league-high 11 times, with three of those resulting in additional turnovers.

The aforementioned Sam Ehlinger, meanwhile, has not seen any game action so far in 2022. A sixth-round pick by the Colts last year, he did appear in three games as a rookie but has yet to throw a pass in the regular season.

Ehlinger will become Indianapolis’ seventh starting quarterback since Reich took over as head coach in 2018. He will join Andrew Luck, ex-Patriots Jacoby Brissett and Brian Hoyer, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz and Ryan on that list.

The Patriots will host the Colts on Nov. 6 for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff.