Jadeveon Clowney signed with a new team on Sunday, and the move was a double loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Not only did the veteran, still productive, edge rusher not come to Indy, but he inked a deal with AFC South rival the Houston Texans. Once again, general manager Chris Ballard watched as a potential free agent target signed elsewhere.
Had Clowney going to Houston been a one-off, fine. After all, he has a home in the area, and playing home games near where he lives makes sense. On the flip side, the Texans already had an elite defense and just got better.
But Indianapolis also saw wide receiver Deebo Samuel go from the Washington Commanders to the San Francisco 49ers in free agency recently. While Samuel had previously played with San Fran, the overall point is something different.
Indianapolis Colts miss out on edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney
Ballard didn't do much in free agency this past offseason. He re-signed quarterback Daniel Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce, but bringing back players a team already had doesn't improve the same. It keeps those spots the same, though losing either one would have been far worse.
Indianapolis did sign edge rusher Arden Key, but at best he is a wash for the loss of Kwity Paye, who signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. The edge rush group wasn't overly productive in 2025 and underperformed except for Laiatu Latu. Ballard didn't improve the position.
Jadeveon Clowney would have done so. The Texans might have had an in since the player lives in Houston, but money often overrides everything. Ballard didn't seem aggressive in pursuing Clowney (or Deebo Samuel), which is odd for a general manager who should feel the heat to keep his job after missing the playoffs every year since 2020.
Other edge rushers are still on the market who might help augment Indy's group, but Ballard doesn't seem to be chasing Joey Bosa and Leonard Floyd, to name two examples, either.
Instead, the Indianapolis Colts are getting visits from players such as running back Kenny McIntosh, who the Seattle Seahawks recently released because he hasn't seemed to recover from a knee injury he suffered last July. That was the second major knee injury he has had in three years.
Ballard seems to be looking to take the cheap way out for any free agents who weren't already in Indy. Meanwhile, the Texans, whom Indianapolis is chasing in the race for the AFC South title (a crown a Ballard-led team has never earned), have revamped their roster quite a bit this offseason in hopes of getting better. Chris Ballard doesn't seem to understand how he would improve his own team.
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