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Chris Ballard’s best free agent signing for Colts

By Ryan Stano

PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 03: Justin Houston #99 of the Indianapolis Colts reacts after sacking Mason Rudolph #2 of the Pittsburgh Steelers for a safety in the third quarter during the game at Heinz Field on November 3, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 03: Justin Houston #99 of the Indianapolis Colts reacts after sacking Mason Rudolph #2 of the Pittsburgh Steelers for a safety in the third quarter during the game at Heinz Field on November 3, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
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Chris Ballard has been the GM for the Colts for three full seasons now. He has enough of a history to grade his free agent signings. Which of them has been the best?

Chris Ballard has had a different approach to free agency than his predecessor Ryan Grigson. Ballard has decided to be more methodical with his signings and not spend a lot of money on one guy. He actually signed a decent amount of guys his first season too.

The Colts only have a few of them left on the roster. Some of them were truly bad, such as Ryan Grant and Devin Funchess. Others have been pretty good. Of all of those signings in the past three years, who has definitively been the best addition?

An argument can be made for a couple of different guys. Jabaal Sheard is one of those guys. He has been one of the only sources of consistent pressure since he has been brought in. In the three years he’s been in Indy, he has had 14.5 sacks and 28 tackles for loss.

Sheard has been good, but staying on the field has been a bit of a problem. He missed the first four games this season after offseason knee surgery, and that could be a sign to come as he is now 30 years old. His body might be showing signs of breaking down.

Another good signing was Eric Ebron. Ebron was a monster last season and made the Pro Bowl after catching 13 touchdown passes. He really helped open up the offense for Andrew Luck. Unfortunately, he was really bad this season and the Colts won’t re-sign him.

The best free agent signing that Ballard has had is Justin Houston. Houston was just signed last offseason and had a fantastic first season with the Colts. He had 11 sacks and was really good, and it was surprising that he didn’t make the Pro Bowl.

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Next season, the Colts will be hoping to have the same sort of production from him. Ballard will be looking to make similar signings to Houston this offseason too.

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