The Indianapolis Colts' 2025 season basically ended before Week 17's game versus the Jacksonville Jaguars. Indy still has two games left, but no playoff hopes after the Houston Texans beat the Los Angeles Chargers. Once again, the Colts will be sitting at home when the playoffs begin.
Much of the blame for that should lie with general manager Chris Ballard. Injuries certainly played a part in the team starting 7-1 and then being out of the postseason before the season ended, but other teams have overcome the same issues.
The San Francisco 49ers, for instance, have arguably lost more talent through players getting hurt (and their starting quarterback for eight games) than Indianapolis. San Francisco not only survived being without players such as Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, but they thrived. Why? Because they know how to build a better overall team than Ballard does.
Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard made errors before and throughout the 2025 season
Too little success has come in Ballard's near-decade of being in charge of the Colts. There are loads of reasons for that, but three clear mistakes follow.
Going way too far to acquire Sauce Gardner
For his entire tenure as the general manager of the Indianapolis, Ballard had eschewed a move at the trade deadline. At least, not one that wasn't directly tied to a previous trade, and that was ultimately meaningless. So, when the GM finally decided to make a deal, he went way too all-in.
Giving up one first-round draft pick and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell for Sauce Gardner would have been fine. Still, that is a lot to give up for a cornerback when the team really needed another high-end edge rusher. The corners haven't been the issue this season.
But giving the New York Jets two first-round selections and Mitchell was ridiculous. Ballard mortgaged the future in the hopes the team could win a Super Bowl in 2025, even though the Colts hadn't faced a tough schedule yet. Fans nor the GM had seen the real version of Indy.
Now, the Indianapolis Colts are just stuck. The team lacks a first-round choice in the next two years, and quarterback is a real problem in 2026. Even had Daniel Jones stayed healthy and re-signed for a couple of seasons, Indy could have taken a QB, let the player sit and learn for a year or two, and Ballard could have traded Anthony Richardson for anything.
All things Anthony Richardson
Some credit Ballard with solid roster building, but that simply cannot be proven. The team hasn't won a division title in its nine years, so how good has its overall roster-building been? Not good enough to be a consistently high winner.
But there is no argument that Ballard knows how to draft quarterbacks. He doesn't. Richardson had question marks coming out of college as he was not very experienced, and wasn't an accurate passer. He hasn't gotten better in the NFL when he has been healthy enough to play.
But besides clearly blowing the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft by choosing Richardson, Ballard didn't do anything to address who should be Daniel Jones' backup after Richardson broke an orbital bone in pregame warmups in Week 6. This was a few weeks before the trade deadline, and even adding a player such as Jameis Winston from the New York Giants would have been a positive.
The team has made it clear that it has little faith in Riley Leonard at this point, so making sure there was a solid backup to Jones on a team that was overachieving through Week 6 would have been wise. Maybe the assumption was Jones wouldn't get hurt, but he had in two previous seasons, and Ballard should have made sure his backup was an experienced one.
Choosing JT Tuimoloau in the second round
Sure. Any team could have whiffed on Tuimoloau, but Ballard was the one who did it. The problem is that the rookie is a poor fit in Lou Anarumo's scheme. Tuimoloau is big, but not overly quick. The oddest part of his season, though, was that he was a healthy scratch early in the season, so even Indy didn't appear to completely believe in him.
The Colts knew they needed a bit more youth among the edge rusher group and along the defensive line at the time Tuimoloau was chosen at pick 45. Ballard could have gone with Nic Scourton instead. Scourton is even bigger than Tuimoloau and was clearly more ready to make an impact in Year 1.
Indy is now left with a lot of questions in its front seven on defense this offseason, and doesn't know if JT Tuimoloau will ever help. Grover Stewart is past 30 years old, DeForest Buckner is also past 30, and suffered a neck injury midway through the season. Ballard, if he keeps his job, could be looking at a massive overhaul with his defense ahead of 2026.