AFC Notes: Chris Ballard, Ran Carthon, Colts, Texans, Titans

Colts

Colts GM Chris Ballard vehemently refuted reports revolving around rookie Adonai Mitchell‘s character concerns.

“I read some of the bulls— that was said,” Ballard said, via ESPN’s Stephen Holder. “Excuse my language. Our typical league — unnamed sources, bad interviews. That’s such bulls—. I mean, it f—ing is. It’s bulls—. Put your name on it. I’m tired of it. We tear these young men down. These are 21-, 22-year-old young men. And can people out there tell me they’re perfect in their lives? It’s crazy. It’s crap. This is a good kid. And for those reports to come out, it’s bulls—.”

Ballard said Mitchell’s slide tested his mental fortitude and added that he’ll need to grow a little bit, like any other rookie.

“Look, he’s like any young player,” Ballard said. “They get built up so big now, especially in college football. I mean, the NIL and all the stuff they go through, sometimes a little adversity, a little humbleness is a good thing. I think he’ll respond.”

• ESPN’s Stephen Holder expects the Colts to remain open to adding a veteran at either cornerback or safety after not materially addressing the secondary in the draft.

Texans

• ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime says Texans second-round CB Kamari Lassiter has the best chance of Houston’s rookie class to start right away.  
• According to Aaron Wilson, the Texans signed UDFA WR Jadon Janke to a contract with $110k in guarantees including a $20k signing bonus. 

Titans

The Titans grabbed DT T’Vondre Sweat with pick No. 38 in the draft which many consider great value for his on-field talent. Sweat was recently arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, and Tennessee GM Ran Carthon spoke on why the team still felt he was a good option.

“We were his first visit after the incident occurred and so we brought him in and spent the day with him,” Carthon said, via Terry McCormick of the Titan Insider. “If you know him, he’s a jovial kid. He’s got a great personality, fun-loving. But you could see he was extremely affected when we brought him in. We spent a lot of time talking about it. I know he was ready to talk about it with anybody that wanted to listen, and he was forthright and honest. But something that’s not documented or has not been reported is we actually went down to visit with him and the family, because we wanted to know more and actually spend time not just with him, but his family and see the people he surrounds himself with.”

“We flew down to his hometown and spent the morning with him, his mom, his brother and his grandfather and really got to know him as a person and what the expectations would be for us if he was here and kind of put that one line. We had some tough conversations while we were there, tough conversations not only with him but tough conversations with his family in the room with the understanding that it’s going to take all of us, just like it would be with any other player.”