AFC Notes: Colts, Texans, Titans

Colts

The Colts are still struggling to take the next step forward as a contending franchise, and owner Jim Irsay made it abundantly clear following their collapse at the end of 2021 that his expectations remain high. Still, it appears the brunt of his ire was focused on departed QB Carson Wentz, not the tandem of GM Chris Ballard and HC Frank Reich. Irsay says he’s been impressed with how they’ve dealt with the raw deal of QB Andrew Luck‘s abrupt retirement. Their jobs appear safe — for now. 

“I think they’re both outstanding at what they do … I think the maturation process, the things they’ve learned from the beginning when they started, trust me, it’s really remarkable. You just can’t find any weaknesses in terms of intelligence, hard work, character,” Irsay said via the Athletic’s Zak Keefer. “We’ve had a lot of success against the backdrop of Andrew pulling away. I’d like to see how any other franchise could possibly survive a generational talent (retiring) at 29 years old. I know fans get edgy, but believe me … (Reich and Ballard) are growing into who they are. I invest in the fact that this was a rookie head coach and a rookie general manager. They’re going to make mistakes, and I’m banking on that. They’re going to get better.

“Everyone has their kryptonite. There’s always some honing in you’ve gotta do, (and) talk about, ‘You need a little more of this.’ Sometimes, you just don’t step in and force them to do (something), even though you know it’s the right thing to do. You have to let them, you know, fail sometimes. You hope they don’t fail, but you have a strong suspicion. But you have to do that.”

Texans

• SI.com’s Mike Fisher reports the word in league circles is that the Texans don’t want to trade WR Brandin Cooks, but teams that want to offer should start with a second-round pick.

Titans

In response to a question about if they would consider spending a decent pick on a running back, Titans GM Jon Robinson told reporters the franchise will still focus on scouting running backs this offseason and would have done so even if RB Derrick Henry hadn’t suffered an injury during the season.

“I think given my history in the league and going through seasons where players for whatever reason aren’t available – they get injured or something – you’re going to need good football players,” Robinson said, via Ben Arthur of the Tennessean. “You’re going to need as many good football players at every position as possible. So, we don’t go into a draft scouting this particular position or that particular position because we may need that position when looking at the depth chart.”

• Per PFN’s Aaron Wilson, Houston CB Marcus Jones has a top 30 visit scheduled with the Titans.