Chris Ballard just got a golden opportunity with Myles Garrett's bombshell announcement

Indianapolis Colts fans were dismayed to hear that general manager Chris Ballard was not fired at the end of the 2024 season, as his tenure with the Colts has been nothing short of disastrous. Still, he'll be in Indianapolis for at least another year, and he's promised that he understands he needs to change and improve.

One of the mistakes Ballard owned up to is his handling of free agency and trades. While Ballard has generally drafted well, his approach to free agency has been abysmal. He has been stingy in picking free agents in the offseason, preferring to retain current players and spend in the draft. Ballard has said he realizes now that this approach is a bad one, and a golden opportunity just dropped in his lap that will help him prove that.

Myles Garrett requests a trade

Cleveland Browns superstar Myles Garrett just announced that he wants to be traded in a bombshell announcement posted on social media. Garrett has spent eight years in Cleveland, and though the Browns have had a less-than-steller run, Garrett has still wowed. He has had seven straight double-digit sack seasons, five straight Pro Bowl nods, four first-team All-Pro honors and was NFL Defensive Player in the Year in 2023.

The announcement from Garrett isn't that much of a surprise, as he has repeatedly made it clear that he was finished in Cleveland. He openly said he didn't want to go through another season of rebuilding, hinting at what was to come.

Still, Garrett has two years left on the five-year, $125 million contract extension he signed in 2020, and Browns general manager Andrew Berry has been very firm that Cleveland has no interest in trading Garrett, no matter what they get in return. But money talks, and the right trade could very well change Berry's mind.

Could the Colts land this future Hall-of-Famer?

The Colts defense has struggled in recent years, and Garrett could be a much-needed boost. At defensive end, pairing him with DeForest Buckner would be truly formidable. The Colts are set to possibly lose both Dayo Odeyingbo and Samson Ebukam, and even with the two of them, they don't have a truly dominant pass rusher.

Now, Garrett is hoping for a Super Bowl in the near future, and Indianapolis doesn't seem to be anywhere close to that. But if Anthony Richardson does improve in the offseason the way fans hope he will, and with an improved defense, it's not outside of the realm of possibility that the Colts become a legitimate contender. After all, the Colts are not at the bottom in the AFC South each year. With good draft picks, the right plays in free agency, and improvement from Richardson, Indianapolis could easily become playoff-worthy.

For the Colts to land Garrett, they would have to be willing to sacrifice a lot... but it could be worth it.