Malik Hooker’s future with the Colts suddenly murky

In a conference call with reporters, Chris Ballard said they still had to think about picking up the young player’s fifth-year option on his contract. His future with the team is suddenly very murky.

Malik Hooker was Chris Ballard’s first pick he made as the GM of the Colts. The safety out of Ohio State was playing some unbelievable ball in his one year as a starter at OSU, picking off 7 passes and returning 3 of them for touchdowns. His stock flew up to a first-round pick.

He had a promising start to his rookie year, as he picked off 3 passes in his first 7 games. Then he tore his ACL and lost the rest of the season. Since then, he has struggled to stay on the field. He has missed five more games over the past two seasons. He has yet to play a full 16 game slate.

Add this to his late-season struggles last season and his future with the Colts is suddenly murky. In a conference call with local reporters, Ballard was asked about picking up his fifth-year option. He said they still have some time to evaluate things to make a decision.

The same question was asked to him last year about Ryan Kelly. Ballard immediately said they were going to pay the starting center. It has to be unsettling for Hooker to not get the vote of confidence that was given to Kelly.

Some in the national media have painted this as Hooker being available for a trade. I don’t believe that is true. Unless they get an offer that blows them away, Hooker will likely be on the Colts’ roster this season. His play this season will determine his future with the team.

I would guess that Ballard would still pick up Hooker’s option. It would be cheaper than getting a free agent free safety and gives them another year to see if he can play to his full potential. One thing is for sure though; Hooker has been put on notice that his play has to improve.