The Indianapolis Colts transformed their roster a tad this past offseason, and the approach worked so well that the general manager ended up losing his job six games into the season. To be fair, Chris Ballard should have been let go years ago.
His leadership oversaw only two playoff teams in nine years and no AFC South winners. Indy deserved better.
The positive part is that most of the players who recently left haven't exactly been great for their new teams, either. This might suggest Ballard was right to let them leave, or that he should never have had them on the roster in the first place.
- Zaire Franklin continues to be himself even after leaving the Indianapolis Colts
- Michael Pittman Jr. is missing some time
- Kwity Paye's hot start has greatly cooled
- Rodney Thomas II has been pretty good and gotten some starts
- Nick Cross returned with a vengeance
Zaire Franklin continues to be himself even after leaving the Indianapolis Colts
With the Colts, Franklin was solid against the run most of the time, but couldn't offer much in terms of pass rush or cover receivers well. That has been the same with his new team, the Green Bay Packers.
He is tackling at a better rate than in previous seasons (whiffing on just 5.9 percent of his tackle attempts), but he still has a quarterback rating allowed of 111.6 and has five total quarterback pressures. In other words, Indy isn't missing much by not having him.
That is the case even though the inside linebacker group for the Colts has been a bit of a mess. Franklin wouldn't have fixed the problem because he was part of the problem in 2025 and before.
Michael Pittman Jr. is missing some time
Just like Franklin, Pittman hasn't exactly transformed his new team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Plus, he is now dealing with a foot injury and is on injured reserve. He can't return until mid-November. All things staying the same except if the receiver were still in Indianapolis, he wouldn't be helping the Colts in 2026.
Through three games with Pittsburgh, he has only seven catches for 89 yards and no touchdowns. What Indy fans saw from him in recent seasons is exactly what Pittman is: A possession receiver with no explosiveness.
He wouldn't augment what Indianapolis has currently, which is mostly a bunch of the same kind of receivers. The player the Colts really miss is the injured Alec Pierce, but he is probably out for a while longer.
Kwity Paye's hot start has greatly cooled
Paye's first game with the Las Vegas Raiders was fantastic. He had eight quarterback pressures and two sacks in the opener, but since then, very little. He has only one sack and four quarterback hits in the last five games. He's solid against the run, though.
This only means he would fit right in with the current group of edge rushers in Indianapolis who cannot get any consistent pressure on QBs but are decent against the run. It's a terrible system, and one Lou Anarumo can't seem to fix.
Keeping Paye wouldn't have fixed it either. At least for him, he is on a team that appears certain of future success.
Rodney Thomas II has been pretty good and gotten some starts
Thomas was a starter for Indianapolis in his first two seasons, but then was relegated to the bench in the last two. He walked in free agency, and it's unclear if the Colts even made any effort to re-sign him.
He ended up with the Seattle Seahawks and started for the first four games while starter Ty Okada was out. Thomas was pretty good in those games, allowing just one touchdown pass and having a quarterback rating of 94.3.
Would he have helped the Colts this season across from Cam Bynum? Most likely. He would have never gotten a chance, however. His leaving was just another bad decision in a long line of bad decisions for Chris Ballard.
Nick Cross returned with a vengeance
Speaking of former starting safeties, Cross also walked in free agency this past offseason and signed with the Washington Commanders. He was iffy in his first two games, and then missed the next three games with an abdominal injury.
He returned in Week 6, and he was really good against the San Francisco 49ers. The Commanders lost, but Cross had two quarterback pressures, didn't allow a completion when targeted, and was involved in three tackles with no misses.
Rookie AJ Haulcy has started for the Colts in place of Cross, and he's been, well...fine. He could develop into a better player than Nick Cross, but in a make-or-break season for the Indianapolis Colts. Keeping Cross would have been the wiser choice.
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