The Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars have watched as the other two teams in the AFC South have been aggressive in making moves to improve themselves. For the Tennessee Titans, they had a long way to go to be good. The Houston Texans, they are inching closer to a Super Bowl push.
To assist them in their title search, Houston has made moves to bring back players for the long run while also signing (or trading for) new players who could give them a boost. One of those, of course, was right tackle Braden Smith, a longtime member of the Colts.
On Friday, though, the Texans made a massive splash by extending edge rusher Will Anderson for three years and $150 million, of which $134 million is guaranteed. It is the richest contract for any non-quarterback in NFL history.
Texans extending Will Anderson should make Indianapolis Colts fans jealous
Is Anderson great? Sure, but is he that great? Maybe not. Still, his single extension is not the reason Indianapolis fans should feel a little jealous. It is all the moves that Houston has done. They aren't aiming to simply make the postseason, as Colts general manager Chris Ballard appears to be hoping for, but to win a championship.
The Texans were already ahead of Indy and everyone else in the division over the last few years. They were also in a great spot to extend the young talent, like Anderson and quarterback CJ Stroud, who have helped them make the playoffs in three straight seasons. In two of those years, they won the AFC South. Indianapolis hasn't done that since 2014.
Chris Ballard, however, appears to think it's a triumph to re-sign quarterback Daniel Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce. Pierce was homegrown, but Jones was a free agent find in 2025 who has had three seasons cut short because of injury. One of those was last season.
While Ballard needs 2026 to work out to keep his job while the roster is seemingly not any better than it was last year, and the GM simply wishes for better health in the future, the Houston Texans have aggressively pursued adding Braden Smith, running back David Montgomery, safety Reed Blankenship, and extended many of their own to make 2026 great, and likely 2027 too.
The Indianapolis Colts, however, hope that 2026 is better so the general manager and head coach keep their jobs. In future seasons, the team seems set to not win the AFC South while watching the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and, maybe, the Tennessee Titans, winning multiple division titles.
Add us as a preferred source on Google