Week 14 proved many things about the Indianapolis Colts. One is that the defense is simply not good enough to make the team playoff-worthy if the offense isn't great. Sure, Indy was missing cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive lineman DeForest Buckner, but this is the NFL. No excuses exist.
Backups have to show they belong in the league by providing production, something akin to what the presumed starters would do. In the case of one potentially key Indianapolis player, though, even that situation doesn't exist.
Edge rusher Kwity Paye has been solid through most of his previous four seasons in the league, though he has never produced enough to match his first-round draft value. He has the skill set to seemingly get to double-digit sacks, but hasn't yet. Twice, he has gotten to eight.
Kwity Paye has disappeared for the Indianapolis Colts in 2025
Again, solid, but not transformative. He needs to show he can be. Only Laiatu Latu has been somewhat consistent in terms of production from an edge rusher this season, and while Buckner is excellent along the interior of the defensive line, he might be even better with more varied pressure from the edge rush group.
In his fifth season, Paye's numbers have diminished. He has 31 total pressures, not far off his 2024 total of 37, but he only has four sacks, five tackles for loss (compared to 10 last season), and has missed a career high 14.7 percent of his tackle attempts, double his previous high.
With Daniel Jones out for the rest of the season, the defense has to be much better, even while missing a couple of key players. Lou Anarumo's unit hasn't truly gotten used to playing with cornerback Sauce Gardner, after all. He has only appeared in three games since being traded to Indy.
Kwity Paye has no good reason for not being better. Anarumo's scheme is designed for high-level edge rushers, such as Trey Hendrickson with the Cincinnati Bengals (Anarumo's former team), and Paye should be able to excel in the system.
Instead, he is arguably having his worst season since his rookie season of 2021. Without Jones, the Indianapolis Colts will not be favored to win any of their remaining games. The schedule has Indy facing the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars. To have a chance, Indianapolis's defense needs to be dominant.
For that to occur, Kwity Paye has to stop being mostly invisible. He has disappeared at the worst possible time for him. He is set for free agency in 2026. He shouldn't be back with the Colts if he continues to play at his current level.