The Indianapolis Colts lost E.J. Speed in free agency, and that's bad enough on its own. To make matters worse, Speed stayed in the AFC South, signing with the Houston Texans, and now, the Colts will have to go up against him twice a year.
Speed reacted to joining his new team on social media, posting "Tarleton Texans --> colts --> Texans". While Colts fans understand Speed's reasoning for picking his new team, it still hurts to see him not only leaving the team that drafted him, but joining a divisional foe in the process.
Tarleton Texans --> colts --> Texans
— EJ Speed (@EJ_SPEED) April 8, 2025
EJ Speed reacts to leaving Colts for Texans
Speed's new team makes perfect sense for him, considering he's from the state of Texas and attended college at Tarleton State. Tarleton State's mascot is the Texans too, so, as he noted in his social media post, he went from being a Texan in college, to playing for the Colts, and now is back to being a Texan - just at the professional level now.
The Colts spent a fifth-round pick on Speed in the 2019 NFL Draft, and were fortunate to get six years out of the Tarleton State product. While it's unfortunate to see him leave (and to the Texans, no less), the move isn't the least bit shocking.
Speed had over 100 tackles in each of the past two seasons, and that kind of production will be hard for them to replace. The Colts' loss is the Texans' gain, and that's not a reality that Colts fans like living in, especially with the Texans already being the favorites to win the AFC South (and having won it the past two years).
We'll see if EJ Speed continues to play at a high level for the Colts' division rival, and if this move ended up being the correct decision for him.