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After 14 seasons and becoming the best quarterback in franchise history, the Atlanta Falcons are moving on from Matt Ryan.

Atlanta traded Ryan on Monday to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a 2022 third-round pick, according to multiple reports.

As ESPN.com's Michael Rothstein notes, conversations about Ryan's departure picked up at the start of the new league year, when the Falcons became part of the group of teams inquiring about trading for quarterback Deshaun Watson. Higher-ups throughout Atlanta's organization met with Watson and tried to lure him to the Falcons despite 22 open civil suits ranging from inappropriate conduct to sexual assault against female massage therapists.

As part of that pursuit, the Falcons and Ryan pushed back a $7.5 million roster bonus due March 18 back five days to both let the Watson courtship play out and allow Ryan to seek out trade partners. Watson ended up waiving his no-trade clause to go to Cleveland, but it also put the Falcons in a position where it had very publicly sought out a succession plan for Ryan.

The Falcons will take a $40.525 million cap charge for trading Ryan. That's less than the $48.66 million cap charge that would have applied to him, if he'd stayed.

Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio reminded readers that just 10 days ago, NFL Media reported that the Falcons and Ryan had agreed to a restructuring that would have lowered his cap charge by $12 million. However, the cap charge for trading him before June 1 would have shot above $55 million.

That deal was never done, as the Falcons pivoted first to the idea of getting Watson and then to the reality of getting rid of Ryan.

In Indianapolis, Ryan will earn $23.75 million in 2022 and $28 million in 2023, barring a new deal. He's due to be a free agent in 2024.

According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, the Falcons are expected to pursue Marcus Mariota as a possible replacement for Ryan.

Generally speaking, even if they acquire Mariota, the Falcons are in for a major rebuild.

Sure, they re-signed Cordarrelle Patterson over the weekend and they still have last year's prize rookie, Kyle Pitts, at tight end.

Beyond that?

At wideout, Calvin Ridley was suspended a year for gambling -- and even at that, it's not clear he was ever going to resume his career in Atlanta after missing the bulk of the 2020 season with mental health issues. In addition, Russell Gage was signed by division rival Tampa Bay.

That leaves Olamide Zaccheaus and Frank Darby as the top two receivers on the roster.

So it's full rebuild mode in Atlanta.

In Indy?

Not so much. ... Ryan gives them a solid, experienced starter who has played at the highest level -- albeit not in recent seasons. That said, he was named league MVP for the 2016 season, when he led the Falcons to the Super Bowl where they infamously lost to the New England Patriots despite at one point holding a 28-3 lead.

So while it's true that Ryan, at 36, is significantly older than another candidate, San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo, who is 30, but Ryan is more accomplished, far more durable and the Colts are scheduled to pay him $24.7 million and $28.2 million over next two seasons.

As for why the Colts didn't go after Jimmy G?

Form what San Francisco Chronicle staffer Eric Branch was told, there were concerns over Garoppolo's shoulder injury. Not so much the medical side of it but the idea of missing time in the offseason with a new team. This was a red flag.

Meanwhile, Ryan, working behind a competent offensive line, should be plenty capable of keeping this offense on track. And that's good news for players like Jonathan Taylor, who is widely viewed as the No. 1 pick overall in fantasy drafts this year, and receiver Michael Pittman.