Grant Stuard just threw some major shade at the Indianapolis Colts

In last week's free agency frenzy, the Indianapolis Colts lost one of their best players on defense, as Grant Stuard signed with the Detroit Lions, a huge blow to the Colts.

Stuard was chosen as the final pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, giving him the title of "Mr. Irrelevant," though his career with the Indianapolis proved that he was anything but irrelevant. After signing a four-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he was traded to the Indianapolis Colts within a year. Stuard originally started on special teams, but became a key member of the defense in 2024. He had 40 tackles, with one career day in particular coming in the Colts' game against the Miami Dolphins. Stuard had 19 total tackles in one game alone, the highest of any member of the NFL in one game for the entire 2024 season.

But evidently, he has no mixed feelings about leaving Indianapolis for Detroit, judging by the comments he made.

First, Stuard insinuated that Indianapolis can't be seen as a contender - perhaps an uncomfortable truth, but not pleasant to hear nonetheless.

"I got text messages from family members, from high school coaches and stuff saying, hey, congrats on being part of a contender," he said. "And I think that's the way it's widely seen. There's probably only four or five teams you can say that about confidently, objectively. And I feel like this is definitely one of those places."

But he wasn't finishing shading the Colts; next, he took a shot at the culture in Indianapolis.

"[Detroit is] a place that I think is open to innovation, open to playing the guys who maybe deserve to play, open to putting the best guys on the field, and seem very transparent about everything. It's very hard to find a building full of authenticity, from the head coach to the coordinators, and having a lot of former players. They seem to understand that as well, having my meetings with them as coaches," he continued. "And we're not gonna sugarcoat it, we're gonna tell you what it is. And there's guys that have been around the league for a while that know how some of it can be business. But it's like when I'm being coached, this is not a business. When we're talking about how we did on Sunday, it's not a business. This is, we're a team and we wanna win. And so being in a building where it seems like everybody is on that type time, I think that a lot of guys can appreciate that and wanna be here."

Again - not necessarily false, but tough to hear all the same.

The culture of the Colts has come under criticism numerous times, particularly during the 2024 season, with one anonymous veteran player telling The Athletic why Indianapolis just can't seem to succeed.

"There’s no vision. From the top down — from the front office, to the coaches, to the players — no one is ever on the same page, and every year at the end, we’re sitting here losing," they said. "If you look at the best teams in the league, they all have a vision, and they commit to it. The Chiefs keep winning because they have a vision. The Lions turned things around because they have a vision. There’s no vision here."

Maybe Stuard just inadvertently outed himself as the player who gave that interview.

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