Chris Ballard, general manager of the Indianapolis Colts, had an NSFW response when asked if the team was reluctant to spend money.
The Indianapolis Colts always approach the offseason with patience. Despite the team always having a lot of cap space, they rarely go on massive spending sprees in free agency.
This offseason has been no different. Indianapolis entered the new league year with $70 million, the most cap space in the league. However, Indy didn’t make any splashy free agency signings. Instead, the team focused on re-signing younger players.
This approach frustrated a lot of fans and members of the media as they felt the Colts were a few pieces away from having a complete roster but the team was unwilling to spend to acquire those pieces.
All the smoke was directed at general manager, Chris Ballard, who champions Indy’s patient approach. Ballard was able to win back the trust of many after completing two great trades to acquire Yannick Ngakoue and Matt Ryan.
With things simmering down, Ballard made an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” and answered the tough question everyone wanted to know: is Indy afraid to spend money?
Do you think the narrative that you're scared to spend money is real??
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 22, 2022
"IT'S BULLSHIT" ~Chris Ballard
😂😂 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/RdI8VbpBLY
Chris Ballard says Colts will continue to be patient
After denouncing the notion that Indy is scared to spend money, Ballard opens up more about how Indianapolis approaches things. He first highlights how the Colts do spend money by extending their guys or trading for players with big contracts.
Ballard also brings up the Rams, who have been praised for their aggressive all-in approach. He highlights that even they are not big spenders in free agency.
Ultimately, Ballard expressed that the Colts have their own way of doing things and that they will stay true to their process until the world sees the results.
In the meantime, Ballard is comfortable taking the heat from fans and the media but he’s confident that things will eventually turn around for Indianapolis.
He has good reason to believe things will continue to improve. Last season, the Colts had the most Pro Bowlers in the NFL and they were able to string together several impressive wins.
The team has plenty of homegrown talent like Darius Leonard, Jonathan Taylor, Quenton Nelson, and more. Indy really is a couple of pieces away from having a championship-caliber roster.
While a spending spree could probably accelerate Indianapolis’ path to that roster, that’s not the way Ballard and company do things. That means fans have to either be frustrated or adopt the patience that Ballard operates with.
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