Colts’ Chris Ballard is having his best offseason yet

The GM has been building a team for contention and has had his finest offseason yet with the Colts.

Chris Ballard came into Indianapolis with a lot of problems on his roster. The previous GM, Ryan Grigson, had left the cupboard bare in a few key areas. He went to work rebuilding the team and now has a team that is a legitimate title contender next season.

This offseason might be his finest work yet. He started things off with the big trade for DeForest Buckner. That leaves them without a first-round pick, but drastically improves the interior defensive line. Signing his former teammate Sheldon Day helps that too.

After making the surprising decision to released Pierre Desir, he went and signed Xavier Rhodes to a one-year deal worth only $5 million. While Rhodes had his struggles last season, he is a former All-Pro who is a veteran that is coming in cheaply. This deal has a massive upside.

So too does the Philip Rivers deal. Even though I am not thrilled to have him in Indy, there’s no denying it has major potential. He is also only on a one-year deal. If he performs well, they can easily bring him back. If he doesn’t, they can get rid of him.

Bringing back Anthony Castonzo for two years might be the best deal of them all. The veteran left tackle has proven to be one of the most underrated offensive lineman in the league over his ten years. With him coming back, the offensive line stays intact and is one of the best in the league.

All of these moves add up to a much stronger team on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Most of their cap space is now gone, so don’t expect them to make any huge signings. But the draft brings up all kinds of possibilities to improve this team even more.

The Colts will enter 2020 as one of the favorites to win the division. It will be interesting to see if they can make their way back into the playoffs after a one-year hiatus.