Colts GM On State Of Team: ‘We’re Not Close’

It was a difficult 2024 season for the Indianapolis Colts after finishing with an 8-9 record and missing the playoffs. When speaking to reporters on Friday, GM Chris Ballard said their team isn’t close to being contenders. 

“Right now, we’re not close,” Ballard said, via Stephen Holder of ESPN. “I’m going to make this really clear. Close is losing on the last play of the Super Bowl. That’s close. Going 8-9, that’s not close. No, I’m not saying we won’t be closer when we get to the start of [next] season. But right now, sitting here today, we’re an 8-9 football team. We’ve got to own that.”

Ballard mentioned last year’s season-finale loss to the Texans to eliminate them from playoff contention as a reason for bringing back several players. In the end, Ballard thinks their front office didn’t do a good job creating competition within the roster, which resulted in players not holding each other accountable. 

“I bet that we could bring players back and they would be as upset about what happened at the end of the season last year that they’d want to rectify it,” Ballard said. “And at the end of the day, we were not able to, and I didn’t do a good enough job creating enough competition throughout the roster and keep everybody on edge. There’s got to be some stress. There has to be real stress within that locker room, an uncomfortability that if I don’t play well enough my ass will not be on the field playing.”

Colts’ owner Jim Irsay recently put out a statement that confirmed Ballard and HC Shane Steichen will return in 2025. Ballard acknowledged their results haven’t been good enough given they haven’t won the AFC South since being hired by the organization in 2017. 

“I know fans who want immediate change in leadership will be disappointed. That means we have a lot to prove,” Ballard said. “I hear the criticism, and it’s warranted. It is. And a lot of that falls on my shoulders. For four years, we’ve not gone to the playoffs. We’ve not won a division since I’ve been here, not won a playoff game since 2018. I’ve got to own all that. I do, and I’m not going to run from it.”

It was also a disappointing season for second-year QB Anthony Richardson, appearing in 11 games after missing all but four weeks of his rookie campaign in 2023. Ballard confirmed they plan on adding competition for Richardson at quarterback. 

“We can’t beat our head against the wall,” Ballard said. “We’ve got to have competition at the position for, one, competition makes everybody better and, two, he’s not proven he can play 17 games.”

Earlier this week, Richardson said he would “welcome” competition. 

“I’m a natural competitor. I’ve been competing all my life. I love competing,” Richardson said, via Pro Football Talk. “So, if the team feels like that’s the right direction we want to go in, I’m all for it. I’m competing. If not, I’m still here competing, working. Working my tail off to be the best version I can for this team. So, I can’t really control everything that comes with the NFL, but I know I can control what I can and I’m going to do my part to be the best version of myself for this organization.”

Richardson, 22, declared for the draft following his redshirt sophomore season in 2022 and his first as a full-time starter at Florida. The Colts selected him with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. 

He signed a four-year, $36,874,031 contract with a $23,817,477 signing bonus and will carry a $6,704,369 cap figure for the 2023 season. The Colts will also have a fifth-year option to decide on in 2026. 

Richardson underwent season-ending shoulder surgery to repair his AC joint after going down in Week 5 of his rookie year.

In 2024, Richardson appeared in 11 games and completed 47.7 percent of his passes for 1,814 passing yards, eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He has also rushed 86 times for 499 yards and six touchdowns.