Indianapolis Colts all-time wide receiver great Reggie Wayne believes that the front office’s decision-making is largely to blame following the team’s disappointing 1-3 start to the season:
"Nov 29, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay talks with former Indianapolis Colts player Reggie Wayne during before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports“I honestly think Andrew Luck is playing pretty good despite some of the O-line woes that they’re having,” said Wayne on NFL Network Tuesday. “A lot of people are wanting to criticize Andrew Luck, instead of what I think the big problem is. I think that big problem is a lot of their front office decisions. It’s draft picks, or it’s free agent pickups. They’ve missed on a lot of guys. In free agency, they got a LaRon Landry and got rid of Antoine Bethea, who was a Pro Bowler. That was a swing and a miss. Arthur Jones hasn’t found his way in there yet. They have Trent Cole, who’s now out (on injured reserve). He hasn’t given them anything.”“You went and got his teammate Todd Herremans from Philly, also who didn’t give them anything. So they missed on so many guys and also picks in the draft. You have Bjoern Werner, who is now out of the league. Khaled Holmes, who was playing center from USC–he came and left. There were so many decisions that they made in there, and they just missed. And don’t forget the Trent Richardson trade. They got rid of a first-round pick to bring in Trent Richardson who ended up not doing anything for them.”"
Of course–agree or disagree, Wayne’s opinion carries significant weight. He’s one of the best wide receivers in Indianapolis Colts franchise history with a resume that includes ranking 2nd All-Time in Colts Career Receptions (1,070), 2nd All-Time in Colts Career Receiving Yards (14,345), 2nd All-Time in Colts Career Touchdowns (82), Most Colts Career Games Played (211), and Most Colts Career Wins (143).
Having successfully bridged the gap between the Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck eras of Colts football while providing pivotal leadership in the process, Wayne’s a true “Horseshoe guy” in every sense of the phrase.
The front office’s mistakes have been well-documented with perhaps the most egregious offenses being wasting consecutive 1st round picks in 2013 and 2014 on busts Bjoern Werner and Trent Richardson respectively–both of whom are out of football all together.
Not to mention, failing to shore up the team’s shoddy pass protection despite signing and ultimately whiffing on free agent signings along the offensive line such as Samson Satele, Gosder Cherilus, Donald Thomas, and Todd Herremans through the years. As such, Luck remains one of the most hit quarterbacks in football with no real end in sight.
It hasn’t been all bad for the Colts, but it appears that there are re-occurring themes of deficiencies on the Colts roster which haven’t been improved enough in now ‘Year 5’ of the front office’s tenure–an eternity in today’s NFL. The Colts can no longer say that they’re in a ‘rebuild’, which means that it’s time to start seeing some significant results from the current regime.