The Indianapolis Colts' 2025 season is shaping up to be a fun one. While the team has struggled in the three games ahead of Week 13, most teams have a dip in play. Even a loss to the Houston Texans would not be crippling to Indy's playoff hopes.
Colts fans have learned a lot about the team this season. One is that quarterback Daniel Jones is a great fit in head coach Shane Steichen's offensive system and has been shockingly good. New York Giants fans are no doubt jealous of what Jones is truly capable of.
Another thing fans have learned is that general manager Chris Ballard truly doesn't mind taking an in-season risk on a trade if he believes a certain player can elevate the team. No one expected cornerback Sauce Gardner to be part of the team ahead of the season, of course.
Indianapolis Colts players who are lucky the team hasn't released them yet
But not every player is as worthy of a roster spot as Gardner, of course. Some simply help on special teams, and maybe not even that well at that. The four players below are lucky to be part of a fantastic Colts team.
Cornerback Mekhi Blackmon
Blackmon isn't a terrible player, and he definitely has some value on special teams, but any hopes he had to play more defensive snaps were dashed when Indy traded for Sauce Gardner. With Gardner, Charvarius Ward, and Kenny Moore II under contract through 2026, Blackmon is a fairly unnecessary piece.
He likely stays on the roster currently for depth, but when 2025 draft pick Justin Walley returns next year after tearing his ACL before this season, Blackmon falls even deeper down the depth chart. Plus, he has no guaranteed money on his contract, so the Colts could save all of the nearly $1.5 million owed him next season.
That might not sound like much, but Indianapolis needs to save money where it can. The team has to re-sign quarterback Daniel Jones, and has other contracts that will need addressing soon.
Tight end Will Mallory
Indianapolis likes to have a lot of tight ends on the roster. The team currently has four. Mallory, after having a solid training camp and preseason, is the fourth and rarely sees offensive snaps in games. He has only played in two this season and has only 257 total snaps in three years (five this season).
Like Blackmon, Mallory does have value on special teams, but he can also be easily replaced. The Colts clearly have no belief he will ever consistently help on offense, and a backup linebacker could take Mallory's place in the third phase of the game.
The tight end only has a bit over $72,000 in guaranteed salary in 2026, the final year of his rookie contract, while saving $1,145,000 if Mallory is released. Every little count matters.
Linebacker Segun Olubi
In 2023, Olubi got a bit more of a look by Indy on defense. He's been with the team for three seasons and has logged 142 snaps, but only 27 of those have come in the past two years. Whatever general manager Chris Ballard saw in Olubi, he must not have liked it. Neither has new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.
He hasn't been particularly effective on special teams this year either, and again, as long as a player is aggressive with a strong will to help his team, that person should be able to play the third phase well. The only reason for Olubi's presence on the roster cannot be for special teams.
Even while Anarumo and Indianapolis were looking for someone (anyone) to play inside linebacker next to Zaire Franklin earlier this season, the team didn't give Olubi serious thought of doing so. The linebacker isn't signed after 2025, and likely won't be back.
Quarterback Anthony Richardson
Richardson is three years into being a first-round draft bust with little hope of improving on that narrative. He seems injury-prone, even to the most freakish of injuries. The quarterback isn't a bad person, and no one wanted him to get hit in the face with an exercise band in pregame warmups ahead of Week 6, breaking an orbital bone, but those kinds of things simply seem to find him.
He hasn't shown he can stay healthy or productive in three seasons, and the Indianapolis Colts would be right to give up on him. He has just one season left on his rookie deal, and surely Chris Ballard won't pick up the QB's fifth-year option in 2027.
The question the team must ask itself is whether, after (hopefully) re-signing Daniel Jones this coming offseason if Indy wants to go all-in with Riley Leonard as QB2, or keep Richardson for another season and have Leonard be QB3 again. Either way, the hope has to be that Richardson never gets to play meaningful snaps for Indy again, and only Daniel Jones does.