Former Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard made wholesale changes to his roster this offseason. Five defensive starters and two more on offense were either traded or allowed to leave via free agency.
A host of key backups – primarily on defense – also said goodbye. You don’t really have to look very far to see how it has worked out. The Colts sit at 2-5 in the AFC South, and Ballard lost his job last week.
There were bound to be growing pains as the club brought in a raft of new players, and the team’s fortunes have been severely damaged by Alec Pierce’s injury and Daniel Jones’ regression. Those were the two major financial investments Ballard made this offseason, and those contracts explain in part why so many veterans are no longer with the team.
Would any of it matter? Would the Colts have a better record had they retained a few of their former players? Let’s check in with several of them to see how they are performing with their new teams in 2026.
- AD Mitchell sinking with the rest of the Jets
- Braden Smith makes an understated debut with Houston
- Kwity Paye cooling after hot start
- Kenny Moore can’t revive an Eagles’ team in free fall
- New flash: Zaire Franklin misses a game
AD Mitchell sinking with the rest of the Jets
Ad Mitchell has been a maddening presence since entering the league as a second-round draft pick in 2024. Despite showing obvious talent, he has not been able to produce with any consistency and is still best remembered in Indy for the careless fumble that cost them a likely win against the Rams last season. Mitchell was essentially a throw-in in the deal that brought Sauce Gardner to town.
With the Jets, he is still having an up-and-down career. The third-year receiver was off to a decent start as the Jets’ WR2 opposite Garrett Wilson for the first couple of weeks of the season. But a midweek finger injury before New York’s third game kept him out of the next four games.
When he returned to action this week against Miami, he looked rusty. He played only about half his normal snaps, and though he was targeted three times, he did not record a catch. Meanwhile, rookie Omar Cooper Jr. appears to have become a clear favorite in New York, potentially relegating Mitchell to an even smaller role.
Braden Smith makes an understated debut with Houston
Speaking of former Colts returning from injury … veteran right tackle Braden Smith finally got on the field for the Houston Texans. Smith, who signed a nice free-agent deal with the Texans after eight seasons and more than 100 starts for the Colts, had been sidelined with plantar fasciitis since the preseason.
The Texans hoped he would help rebuild their offensive line, improving the running game and giving CJ Stroud better protection.
The Texans have stumbled to a 2-5 start. Smith’s return to the lineup did little to stem the slide. They lost to the Giants in overtime in Week 7. The offense managed just 237 yards. This obviously is not Smith’s fault. In fact, in his return, he only played on 25 of the Texans’ offensive snaps, often as an extra lineman in running situations.
The fact is, Trent Brown, an even more experienced lineman, has played well at right tackle in Smith’s absence. Brown played reasonably well in the second half of last year too, which raises questions about why Houston felt it necessary to invest in another right tackle when their offense clearly had other pressing needs.
We will see in the coming weeks whether Smith supplants Brown, as had been assumed, or whether the Texans shuffle their offensive line to get them both on the field.
Kwity Paye cooling after hot start
Defensive end Kwity Paye’s performance has roughly mirrored that of his Las Vegas Raiders team in 2026. A very hot start that has dropped off substantially in the ensuing weeks. He made a splash in the Raiders' Week 1 win over Miami with six tackles, two sacks, and four quarterback hits. He has not approached those numbers since.
In Week 7, Paye was part of a defense that gave up almost 200 yards on the ground to the Rams. He was no more to blame than the rest of the Raiders' defenders as they struggled mightily against LA’s three-tight end sets.
Kyren Williams' second quarter touchdown run – which essentially ended the competitive portion of the game – was a textbook example. Paye was easily handled on the line – not by one of the Rams’ linemen, or even by one of those multiple tight ends – but by Jordan Whittington, the Ram’s 6’1”, 200-pound wide receiver.
With JT Tuimoloau showing new signs of life, Paye's absence doesn't seem nearly as significant as it did a few weeks ago.
Kenny Moore can’t revive an Eagles’ team in free fall
Veteran slot corner Kenny Moore went the first few weeks of the season without a new home before Philadelphia signed him in late September. By his second week with the club, he was on the active roster. Since Week five, he has been playing about 45 snaps per game.
His presence has coincided with an Eagles losing streak that has made 2026 look like a lost year. That has largely been due to multiple disasters on offense, but in Week 7, the defense appears to have given up as well.
Moore, who is playing a hybrid deep safety/slot corner role, has provided the feisty presence that Colts fans so appreciated during his nine years in Indianapolis, but it has barely made a dent in the Eagles' struggles.
New flash: Zaire Franklin misses a game
Since becoming a regular starter for the Colts in 2022, linebacker Zaire Franklin has played every game except for a Week 9 win over Carolina in 2023. He had his 48-game streak broken this past Sunday when he was unable to take the field for Green Bay in their tough loss to Detroit.
You can say whatever you like about Franklin’s on-field production. His tackles are clearly down from his Pro Bowl season in 2024, and his Pro Football Focus (subscription required) grade hovers near the bottom of the league.
But there’s no denying his influence. He was chosen as a team captain and wears the green dot as the Packers' on-field defensive signal caller. Before Sunday’s absence, Franklin had been on the field for virtually every Green Bay defensive snap this season.
Meanwhile, the Colts continue to struggle to find effective linebackers. Considering that the other four former Colts we just discussed are playing for teams with a combined 9-19 record this year, Franklin, despite his current injury, is clearly in the best situation on the 4-3 Packers.
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