Colts not re-signing Denico Autry continues to haunt them every week

As part of Chris Ballard’s decision to completely remake the Indianapolis Colts’ defense, veteran players like Justin Houston and Denico Autry were sent packing in order to lean on younger guys such as Tyquan Lewis and a pair of 2021 draft picks in Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo.

Autry wasted no time finding a new home, as he signed a deal with the division-rival Tennessee Titans. Autry was consistently underrated during his three seasons in Indianapolis, and without his presence on the line, it’s becoming clear what he meant to this defense.

The Titans are now atop of the AFC at 7-2, taking down the mighty Rams on the road without Derrick Henry. Their defense was laughable last year, but a front four consisting of Autry, Harold Landry, Bud Dupree, and Jeffery Simmons have helped turn things around almost instantly.

In 2020, Tennessee had 19 sacks on the year, yet Simmons, Autry, and Landry have already combined for 19.5 this season. Meanwhile, Indianapolis is struggling to generate much of a pass rush outside of their single star player in DeForest Buckner.

Denico Autry is helping the Titans, not the Colts.

Paye has played decently in his first extended NFL action, but he has yet to record a sack. Odeyingbo’s injury has largely rendered his rookie year useless in terms of evaluating him. Lewis, Kemoko Turay, and Ben Banogu were given chances to show they belong in the NFL, and they aren’t taking advantage.

Autry is second in pressures generated since Week 6, with only his teammate in Simmons above him. While Autry by himself is not the main reason the Titans are where they are, it’s clear that he fixed a position of need for Tennessee while creating a void in Indianapolis that Ballard has not filled.

Autry would not have cost a king’s ransom to bring back, yet it appears Ballard thought that a veteran pass rusher who can generate pressure from both inside as a 1-tech and outside as a 5-tech could just be stumbled into with enough rolls of the draft dice. Based on how this season has gone, that appears to have been a grave miscalculation.

While the offense hasn’t necessarily been dominant all the time, the defense has clearly been the less productive of the two units. Autry would not have changed the entire complexion of the defense, but he would’ve been a rock-solid veteran who would’ve piled up a few sacks by now. Seeing Autry produce in a different shade of blue has to sting given how bad Indy’s pass rush has been this year.

Colts: 3 players who have offered almost nothing in 2021

Be it through injuries keeping them off the field or general ineffective play, these players have not contributed a ton for the Indianapolis Colts.