Colts Moving On From Several Core Players
- Colts have lost many prominent players drafted by Ballard, including Smith, Pittman Jr., Franklin, and Paye.
- Ballard acknowledges need to help leaders lead and ensure values spread through the locker room.
- Offseason saw Colts lose more high-profile players than ever under Ballard, raising concerns about the team's strategy.
INDIANAPOLIS – We’ve never seen an offseason like this from Chris Ballard.
Gone are so many pillar Colts that Ballard has drafted, and resigned to notable contracts.
–Braden Smith (2nd round pick in 2018): 105 career starts in 8 years signed with the Texans.
-Michael Pittman Jr. (2nd round pick in 2020): 86 career starts in 6 years was traded to the Steelers.
-Zaire Franklin (7th round pick in 2018): 82 career starts in 8 years was traded to the Packers.
-Kwity Paye (1st round pick in 2021): 74 career starts in 5 years signed with the Raiders.
If you look at the 9 years of Ballard, the names above all rank in the top-10 of Colts with the most starts during that time.
Sure, there are some cap implications at play in some of these guys no longer being in Indy, with Pittman Jr. and Franklin traded with 3 years combined left on their contracts.
But some of it also comes with the reality of the Colts.
They currently have one of the longest playoff droughts in the entire NFL.
Weighing this led to Chris Ballard being asked back at the Combine about the future of his locker room leadership.
How do you evaluate your leadership when the winning, late-season collapses have become rather annual?
“That’s a fair question,” Ballard said.
“Shane (Steichen) and I have actually had discussions about that. We have really good dudes. They care. They want to win. They do everything they can in their power to do the right things. We have to make sure we help leaders lead, if that makes sense. We all have growth to do. I have growth to do.
“We need to help them grow along the way too of things that we want done to make sure that it’s getting spread through the locker room. We have to make sure we are leading them in the right direction, too.”
Less than a month after saying that, former captains in Franklin and Pittman Jr. were traded.
Growing contracts as they rise in age likely played more of a role in their departures, but this offseason has been something we’ve yet to see under Ballard.
As much as the Colts have added nearly a dozen new players, they have never had an offseason under Ballard where they’ve lost so many prominent players.
Is that the right plan as the Colts try to end one of the NFL’s longest playoff droughts?
