The Indianapolis Colts have some buzz around them with the excitement of their first-round pick, Anthony Richardson, being the new face of the franchise but for the most part this offseason, the team itself has been relatively quiet.
General manager Chris Ballard is known for not being a big spender in free agency, but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been offseason splash news in his tenure.
Whether it was the trade back from No. 3 to No. 6 in 2018 with the New York Jets that landed Quenton Nelson, signing Philip Rivers in 2019, the trade for DeForest Buckner in 2020, trading for Carson Wentz in 2021, last year when he traded for Matt Ryan and signed Stephon Gilmore, there have been some big moves made in recent memory.
There weren’t any star-studded players added to the roster this offseason, but Ballard made some quality moves this offseason.
Let’s take a look at the best ones that he made over the last few months:
12
Releasing QB Matt Ryan
No one is actively cheering for any player to lose their job. At least they shouldn’t be. However, it was the right call moving on from Ryan despite the $18 million dead-cap hit the Colts took on by releasing him back in March.
Ryan’s future with the Colts was non-existent with a new head coach coming in, and he simply didn’t show enough to warrant the team running it back with the veteran.
Ryan has had an illustrious career, and he’ll do great things with CBS Sports, but it was the right call to move on from him this offseason even though the Colts didn’t have a solidified plan at the time.
11
Re-Signing DE Tyquan Lewis
Ballard not only made a couple of free-agent additions to the defensive line, but he also decided to bring back Lewis for his sixth season with the Colts. Lewis could easily have a bigger impact than some of the players on this list but at this point of his career, you can’t bet on him playing all 17 games.
He has only played in more than nine games once in his five seasons and has appeared in 15 games over the past two years. Health aside, Lewis is a good versatile piece to have in the defensive line rotation, and with his experience in the league, he can help continue to mentor the younger players in the group.
10
Signing DT Taven Bryan
It’s no secret that Ballard loves the trenches and stresses the importance of having depth in both position groups. Not only did he add Ebukam via free agency, but he also signed Taven Bryan to be a backup to DeForest Buckner at the three-technique. When speaking on the defensive line additions, he thought it was crucial for them to find depth this offseason.
“We added some depth on the D-line, which we thought was critical,” Ballard said this offseason. He also mentioned that Bryan will help give Buckner a break.
9
Signing WR Isaiah McKenzie
Ballard’s first move to help find a player to fill the starting slot receiver role after seeing Parris Campbell sign with the New York Giants was adding McKenzie. The veteran receiver is coming off his best season as a pro after finishing 2022 with a career-high 423 yards. He also brings special teams value with his punt and kick return experience.
McKenzie will battle with rookie, Josh Downs, for the slot position and even if he doesn’t win the gig, Steichen can use him in a gadget role within his offense.
8
Re-Signing WR Ashton Dulin
Football is a three-phase game, and Dulin’s impact on special teams can’t be underestimated. The fifth-year receiver was an All-Pro special teamer in 2021 but dealt with a foot injury last season that caused him to miss five games. Even though he missed time, he still finished with a career-high 207 receiving yards in his small role on the offense.
Ballard retained a solid WR4 that makes an impact on Sundays on special teams and can be utilized as a deep threat in Steichen’s offense.
7
Trading CB Stephon Gilmore for a fifth-round pick
There were few bright spots from the Colts in 2022, but Gilmore was one of them. His tenure in Indianapolis only lasted for a season after he requested a trade this offseason. The move made sense for both sides since he’s at the age where he wants to get another Super Bowl before he hangs up his cleats.
With only one year left on the deal he signed in 2022 and the team not being ready to compete for a championship just yet, it was right for Ballard to honor his request and send him to a favorable situation. The trade helped create $9.9M in cap space that can help Indianapolis give out extensions this summer.
Gilmore was traded to the Dallas Cowboys for the No. 176 pick in the 2023 NFL draft. That pick was used on running back Evan Hull. This move should be viewed more on the cap space created over however Hull’s career turns out.
6
Signing QB Gardner Minshew
Having a good backup is a must in this league because it can make or break a season if the starter has to miss any time due to an injury. There is still a lot of time to determine if Anthony Richardson will be the opening-day starter, but the addition of Minshew should pay dividends for the rookie quarterback.
He played under Shane Steichen as the backup to Jalen Hurts for the previous two seasons so his experience in his offense can help get Richardson up to speed with the system that he will be playing in. Ballard mentioned that Minshew’s experience with Steichen is a benefit.
“It’ll be a good competition,” Ballard said. “I have a lot of faith in Shane, just the little time we’ve been together, whatever the quarterback can do, he’s going to put him in position to be successful. So adding a guy that is familiar with the offense of what he’s done in the past and who’s had some success for him, and that combined with Sam (Ehlinger) going forward gives us two young players that we’ll continue to develop and as we move forward we’ll see what happens.
It’s possible that Minshew might not see any regular season action with the Colts, but his voice in the quarterback room will be vital for Richardson in Year 1.
5
Hiring Shane Steichen
After the whirlwind that was the end of the 2022 season featuring Jeff Saturday taking over as the interim head coach, Ballard did a nice job getting the organization back on track with the hire of Steichen in February.
Though the process took over a month and included 21 total interviews, it’s hard to come away unenthusiastic about Steichen’s prospects as a head coach. There’s always a risk going with a younger coach with no experience at the head coach position, but Steichen’s track record speaks for itself.
Coming away with Steichen after the long interview process should be considered a win considering his success with various quarterbacks in recent seasons.
4
Signing K Matt Gay
The Colts have dealt with kicker issues since Adam Vinatieri’s retirement and despite Chase McLaughlin’s strong showing in 2022, Ballard wasn’t satisfied. This forced him to spend a pretty penny on his new kicker.
He gave Gay the biggest deal for a free-agent kicker in NFL history to help solve one of the problems that have plagued his team over the last few years.
Gay’s cannon of a leg gives Ballard the belief that he can help them put up points.
“Getting Matt Gay, we think he can be a real weapon,” Ballard said. “We saw it back in ‘20 — we saw it in practice.”
3
Re-Signing LB E.J. Speed
The LEO spot wasn’t the only starting position that had players set to hit the free agent market this offseason. Linebackers Bobby Okereke and E.J. Speed were coming off the final year of their rookie contracts so Ballard had a decision to make. With money already invested into Shaquille Leonard and Zaire Franklin, that had a major impact on the Colts’ ability (or inability) to retain Okereke. He ended up signing with the New York Giants.
Ballard ended up re-signing Speed, and the homegrown linebacker is set to see his role grow to help replace Okereke’s production. This gives Indianapolis some continuity with Speed, Leonard, and Franklin, a group that has been together since 2019.
2
Signing DE Samson Ebukam
Outside of quarterback, edge rusher is one of the most debated position groups that are the most important to have when building an NFL roster. With Yannick Ngakoue hitting free agency, Ballard elected to move on from the veteran after trading for him just over a year ago. In doing so, he signed Ebukam as his replacement.
While we don’t know if there were any talks between Ngakoue and the Colts, Ebukam likely signed for a cheaper deal than what Ngakoue wanted, which can help allocate cap space for other players on the roster who are up for extensions.
Ballard thinks he is a great addition to their defensive system.
He told the media, “Samson, who we think fits schematically what we do really well.” Ebukam will play the LEO position in Gus Bradley’s defense and will look to form a solid pass rush tandem between himself and Kwity Paye.”
1
Staying at No. 4 and selecting Anthony Richardson
Entering the offseason, the Colts were quickly labeled as the team to watch for in a trade-up to the No. 1 pick with the Chicago Bears. When the NFL combine came around, Ballard dismissed the idea that he needs to get up to the top slot to get his franchise quarterback.
“I know this was coming up, because I know all the speculation out there,” Ballard said. “One, to move up, there’s got to be a guy worthy of it. This is what’s great right now: Everybody has just automatically stamped that you’ve got to move up to one to get it right. I don’t know if I agree with that. I don’t. But that’s going to be the narrative, and that’s OK. … But I don’t know if that’s the right course of business. When we meet as a staff, and we say, ‘OK, this is what we need to do. This is the guy for the next 10 to 15 years,’ and we think he’s the right guy, sure we’ll do it. But who’s to say we won’t get one at four?”
Eventually, the Carolina Panthers ended up being that team that made a deal with the Bears for the No. 1 pick and when Ballard was asked about it at the owners meeting, he mentioned that they weren’t ready to make that type of move.
“Didn’t want to make a blind decision without all the information,” Ballard said. “I know for people, they might not understand that. But I think history kind of tells you that when you do that, you better know what you’re getting. And we weren’t quite ready to do that at that time. And then we feel like there’s enough depth in the draft that we were gonna be okay.”
When the moment of truth came for Ballard, he proved to be right when the Houston Texans traded with the Arizona Cardinals for the No. 3 pick after selecting C.J. Stroud at No. 2. That led to the selection of Anthony Richardson and Ballard would explain that night he knew for a month that he was his target with the pick.
“A month ago,” Ballard said. “Yeah, after we spent time with him. You know after we spent our time, worked him out, spent a lot of time with him. Just felt really good about who he was as a person. You know, of course he’s still young, but felt really good about who he was.”
Colts director of college scouting, Morcoco Brown, praised Ballard’s patience. “I’ll give it to Chris, Brown said. “He’s got a hard stomach to sit there and wait, and he didn’t flinch.”
Only time will tell if Ballard was correct on not trading up to select either Bryce Young or Stroud, and passing on Will Levis for Richardson but you have to give him credit for his belief that Indy can land their guy at No. 4 and not giving up any capital to do so.
