Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - INDIANAPOLIS COLTS Q&A: Are Chris Ballard's Days as GM Almost Over?

Episode Date: December 30, 2025

Indianapolis Colts fans bring the heat in today's Q&A, including questioning the job status of GM Chris Ballard with the offseason less than a week away.Which players should be priority free agents in... the offseason, and who should be let out of their contracts?What does the future of the Colts' quarterback position look like, considering Daniel Jones' injury, Anthony Richardson Sr.'s tenure, and Riley Leonard's first-career start on the horizon? EVERYDAYER CLUBIf you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans.Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-nfl/ Follow Jake's written work on roundtable.io/sports/nfl/colts/ and Zach's on si.com/nfl/colts/, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, and @LockedOnColts! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. So before tip-off, check the FanDuel app and see what’s dropping during NBA Happy Hour — every Friday from 6 to 7:30 PM Eastern. A little basketball, a little action, and a whole lot of Friday energy.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use codeLOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFLfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 The Indianapolis Colts must fire Chris Baller this offseason. And maybe Shane Steichen as well. Let's get to it. You are Locked-on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome back to the Locked-on Colts podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one Sports Podcast Network Around. Hello, everyone. My name is Zach Hickshaw, Resident Film Nerd, over at Horseshoe huddle.com.
Starting point is 00:00:36 And I'm joined, as always. I guess we haven't been able to say that as much recently. Again, but I've joined again by Jake Arthur, the boots on the ground for Roundtable Sports. We are finally back in the saddle. Jake is settled in with his new everything at home. And I am here as always, I guess, for you guys. But we are here answering your guys' Q&A.
Starting point is 00:00:57 So our big triumphant return episode with both of us back on the show is just answering your guys' questions. You guys gave Jake hundreds and hundreds of questions from firing both of Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen to draft overhaul to roster overhaul stuff. You guys are ready for the off season. We're ready for the off season. And that's what a lot of today's conversation is going to be about. So Jake, I think we have to start it off hot here with the first question being will Chris Ballard and or Shane Steichen be fired. Now, we're not the most plugged in people here.
Starting point is 00:01:31 We're not insiders on here. We're reactionist, I guess, more so, and just, you know, podcasters. But do we have any inkling? Do we have any vibe that this could finally be it? Or does Chris Ballard get year 10 at the helm with the Indianapolis Colts? Yeah, I've got two major factors here that I'm kind of weighing. So the first one is obviously there's a lot of context that goes into the second half collapse, a lot of it being stuff that's really out of the Colts control, like so many
Starting point is 00:02:04 of their most important players were injured. And if you look at it, if Daniel Jones stays healthy, if Buckner stays healthy, Charbarius Ward and Soss Gardner, if all those guys are healthy, does it really look like this? And so that's part of it. But at the same time, I think we're all done with excuses. Because I think we said this on the squad show the other day, you could go back each year of the last dozen or so years that they haven't made the playoffs for the most part and say this is why this is why this. At a certain point, it's move on and just try and start anew. But then Jordan Roderick had a piece come out on the athletic today, a little profile on Carly, or say Gordon. And there was one quote that really stood out to me. And it was
Starting point is 00:02:51 Carly saying, you know, something, a little paraphrasing, like, I may be a little weird, but I really like change, and sometimes I think change is very necessary. Something along those lines. I clipped it and I have to go look at it again, but it was something about embracing change and almost liking it. And I was like, well, I mean, they've been really, really steady for about 10 years here and gotten no results. So surely someone who embraces change might be willing to shake things up a little bit.
Starting point is 00:03:19 So gun to my head, I really find it hard to believe that they're going to full on run it back with everything, you know. I look, Carly could surprise me. I don't think they're going to make any big changes this all season. One of the big things she said in her preseason presser when asked like, hey, is this a win or else type of season for Chris Ballard and Shane Stuyken? And she did put the thing on there like, well, what if we start hot and there's, you know, injuries? And that's what derails the season. you know, there has to be context of these things. And ultimately, I agree, there has to be context of these things.
Starting point is 00:03:53 You know, you're not firing Chris Ballard because of 2025. If anything, 2025 is one of the few reasons why you wouldn't fire him because this is not a typical season where you would fire a general manager because of what happened this year. But we have eight other seasons to look at with this general manager. And even with this head coach, we have two other seasons to look at, which maybe is a better case for keeping Shane Steichen. But ultimately, like, what more do you have to see from Chris Ballard at this point?
Starting point is 00:04:18 It's been the same result over and over again for nine years. We ranted about it too much on this show recently, and we're going to the entire her off season. But I don't know. I don't see the change happening. A commenter here says that Chris Ballard's contract ends after next season. That seems to be like the easy out for almost all the contracts, including his. So we'll see.
Starting point is 00:04:39 I hope she surprises me and makes the move that she needs to make because ultimately I'm of the opinion that we just need a different guy running the show here. I'm still whatever on chain stiking like if you bring him back you fire him whatever I can be talked into it either way depending on the day but when it comes to Chris Ballard I think ultimately they need to make this move but I don't think it's going to happen I would say it's like 65% chance he's back 35% chance he's not is probably where I'd lean as of right now but look it's a new ownership new completely new owner we'll see the way that she goes we really don't have anything to base this off of right now.
Starting point is 00:05:16 when it comes to her yeah and another thing i'm just thinking of that i've been thinking of when this topic comes up is if it don't make any moves if everyone stands pat now you you have to you can't just go off of what the fans want all the time but like how do you sell optimism to the fans because chris ballard even said himself how 2023 ended with the the botch fourth and one all that, he thought all those guys would be just as pissed off as he was and they wanted to run it back in 2024 and do all this awesome stuff and it backfired, which led to him making great changes in the offseason. You're basically doing that again. You're saying, you know, all these injuries and stuff that we had, it's all going to be better, even though Buckner's 31 coming off a neck
Starting point is 00:06:07 injury. Mooney Ward, we got to question his future totally now after three big concussions and a year being on IR twice. Suddenly, some of these big things you're hanging your hat on are very uncertain. Daniel Jones, we're pretty confident they're going to bring him back and he'll be the primary starter next year, but he's coming off in Achilles. We've seen what that looks like with Aaron Rogers and Kirk Cousins, for examples, and their first years back. So what are you selling? And of course, no first round pick, probably not a big spending spree in free agency either because that money is already allocated in certain spots. So, like, what, what are you generating excitement and change about?
Starting point is 00:06:48 There's nothing. I don't think. Like, I think it would be most bland, disappointing offseason if you go through and do nothing, you know. Yeah, no, I agree. And this kind of leads to our next question with David and just continuing the conversation here. Chris Ballard or Shane Steichen, which one do you hang the failure on more if you had to terminate and start over? And I think if all things were equal, let's say if all things were equal, they both had the same length on their term.
Starting point is 00:07:11 Like they both started here in 2023, which isn't the case, but let's just say that were the case for the sake of this. I still would probably blame the general manager more than the head coach. And I'm not saying Shane Seikin's completely blameless and all this. But he's been given to work with, you know, a quarterback who just hasn't worked out. And that's partly on him, for sure. But the quarterback hasn't stayed healthy either. He's at Gardner, Minchu.
Starting point is 00:07:34 He's had Joe Flacco. And then Daniel Jones, who like a quarterback that nobody else wanted outside of Minnesota and Indie this office. season. And he's turned in 500 plus, like, you know, seasons around 500 or more. And that's not even talking about the issues at linebacker. The lack of pass rush, the lack of anything in the pass rush the last couple of years. I think Shane Steichen is a fine coach. I think there are flaws. There are warts. And there are ways that he could be a lot better. And if you make the move from him, I could live with it. Like, don't get me wrong. But I think Chris
Starting point is 00:08:06 Ballard's GMing the last couple years has left a lot to be desired. from misses and free agency to all the rants that me and Ben Boris yesterday were talking about with the drafting, like only 58% of his players in the Shane Steckenera have logged more than 10 games of 58% of his players that he's drafted. 29 players, only 58% have logged more than 10 games played in the NFL at this point. Part of that's injury, but that's part of drafting. You know, it's part of your resume as a general manager. I think it's more on the GM than the head coach at this point, even if they both share some blame for all this, for sure. I think it's just more on the general manager. And I think that's where a lot of my fault lies with the recent
Starting point is 00:08:44 failures of this team. Yeah, big picture overall, you know, that since 2023 that you're going with, I would say Ballard for sure, because it took all this time in surviving by the skin of his teeth last year to finally make some big monumental moves. This year specifically, I would say Shane, just because, again, I thought Chris has had an excellent approach in 2025 to build it. Like, I don't know what else he could have done this year to load up this roster and make them competitive and ready to an extent, you know, you look at all the injuries they've had, how they're not going to finish four and 13 or whatever. It's kind of a testament to the roster that Ballard has fortified.
Starting point is 00:09:32 But you look at starting eight and two, and now you're going to finish. at that nifty little 500 mark, again, this season, how is that not on the coach? And I think a theme since 2023 is, you know, each season, how many games have they given a way that they've been in control of in the second half that they have not been able to hold on to? Like, they narrowly, they've really narrowly missed the playoffs about every year. And if you give them a two, three game difference, you probably make the playoffs in one or two of those seasons, certainly 2023.
Starting point is 00:10:06 So late game coaching and adjustments and things like that. And I don't know if there's like maybe a disconnect with, you know, how how things are communicated with and from players too. Like I think that's kind of been an issue as well. I think short term this year, I would definitely say Shane. And he's got his fingerprints on some of those other things. again the late game collapses are not new this year but overall definitely Chris because it took him until now to finally start building a roster that people went screaming about yeah and at the
Starting point is 00:10:41 end of the day again like we to make it fair we put them at the same tenure right at three years for this exercise it's not three years for each it's nine years versus three years one of them's had a much every player on this roster has been brought in my ballet obviously that's true of every general manager but like it's not like he inherited anybody from the previous GM at this point every single player on this roster is his at this point. So it's him, man. Like at the end of the day, it's him. But coming up, we're going to continue this conversation talking more about Ballard and Stuyken. And we'll talk a little bit about the quarterback situation of the future for the Colts because, again, any other injury, I think it's easy to say you bring back Daniel Jones.
Starting point is 00:11:18 Achilles injury makes it a little bit more of a conversation, I think. And we'll talk about that more in second, too. Let's be real. No one starts a business for the joy of calculating tax withholdings or managing payroll spreadsheets, that's where Gusto comes in to take the stress out of payroll benefits in HR so that you can focus on running your business and supporting your team. Gusto is the all-in-one remote-friendly payroll and HR platform that makes managing your team simple, transparent, and fast. Whether you're hiring, onboarding, or paying employees, Gusto helps you do it all from one place without the hassle or hidden fees. Unlimited payroll runs for one-month, one-monthly price, which means no surprise charges at the end of the month.
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Starting point is 00:12:36 It's your first listen of the day. And thank you for making Locked on the number one sports podcast network. If you haven't already, this is exciting stuff, if you haven't already dove into it, go check out our new Everydayers Club. You could catch our audio ad-free, and you could get an invite to the members-only locked-on Everydayer Club Discord server, which includes a group, chat just for listeners of Locked on Colts. Go to locked on Colts.
Starting point is 00:13:00 Dot supercast.com to join or even gift a subscription. You can do that as well. All right. Let's dive. Let's get past the Chris Ballard and Shane Stuyck and of it real quick because the next biggest topic of conversation is the ever-evolving quarterback situation. So as we expected, and Shane Stuyken will announce this tomorrow, but Riley Leonard is going to start this season finale.
Starting point is 00:13:26 on Sunday in Houston, Philip Rivers, there's no reason to have anywhere. He's brought in to get them to the playoffs, and now they cannot make the playoffs. So Riley Leonard, it is. The rookie six-round pick is going to get his chance against the number one defense and football right now. So that's been another huge topic here. So Richard Horton asks, why would the cold start Riley Leonard over Philip Rivers? Rivers had a real chance to beat Rothfusberger's record.
Starting point is 00:13:53 So that's not really in consideration. If it was something Philip Rivers was dying to do, Shane Stuyken might let him do it. But otherwise, you're just, you know, Rivers came in explicitly to help them get to the playoffs. They can't. He's 44. Do you really want DeNeal Hunter and Will Anderson
Starting point is 00:14:14 turning him into a pretzel with nothing to gain from it? You know, like that is Riley Lunard's pretzel to become, I assume. So you at least get an early look at what this guy you drafted can do in a really tough situation. Yeah, I think you said it all where like this isn't the Colts making a decision. This is Philip Rivers making the decision. It's him stepping back and saying like, I came in here to help you guys get the playoffs. Now that's officially like completely out the window. I know it technically was on Sunday, but like Riley Leonard would have been left to the dogs on Sunday without getting any reps with team with the first team going out there against Jacksonville.
Starting point is 00:14:47 So this is one where it's like stepping aside, Leonard gets all the first team reps this week. and he's able to go out there on Sunday and be the best possible version of himself. So I think if the choice we're still up to Stuyken, either way, I don't think it would really matter like it was out there. If Phil said, like, I want to give it one more go. Rathusberger's record is mine. I think the Colts would say, sure, whatever, go out there and do it. But ultimately because Philip Rivers has taken that step back, I think that's why it's
Starting point is 00:15:14 going to be Leonard on Sunday. And that's more of a testament to Phil than it is to the Colts or anything like that. yeah all right so up next friend of the show deston adams asks what is the absolute most amount of money you'd be okay with the colts paying daniel jones this off season uh so at one point you would have thought 40 million was probably happening uh you got the Achilles which is definitely going to limit him no matter even the rosiest of glasses it's going to limit him at some point in 2026 they're confident he'll be back like for the start of the regular season but even if he is he's not going to he's not going to he's not going to look like Michael Vick out there. Vanilla Vick, as is his nickname. So I think 40 million per years out the door, it's probably still north of 30, though. I see, I don't know, I just don't, teams are so desperate with quarterbacks, you know, like that's just the nature of this. And so it really wouldn't shock me if he got anywhere from 20 million over one year and say, like, go earn it. Or if a team was like, you know what, we saw enough, who cares about the Achilles will
Starting point is 00:16:16 give you two to three. Like, look at the Vikings season this year. And, Do you believe in J.J. McCarthy? If they really, really like Daniel Jones, giving him a two to three-year contract at $40 million per year? Like, I'm not saying that's what I would do. I'm just saying it certainly could happen. You guys know me, though. I'm very scared of Achilles injuries. I think it's my, it's just, again, I spent the whole offseason complaining about Samson
Starting point is 00:16:39 Nabecom coming back. I spent a whole offseason crying that Marlon Mac's career is over when his Achilles was torn. Like, I just, I don't like messing with that injury. And it gives me so much. regardless of position when it comes to coming back from that. So it's just, it's a tough, like, signing a free agent who's actively recovering from an Achilles injury to a big contract just scares the hell out of me. So I don't know what I would give him.
Starting point is 00:17:07 I will say, I hope he comes back from it very well. He was fun to watch this year. I thought he played some good football. I think the Houston game, his last full game before he got hurt, was one of his better games of the season. Like, there were some incompletions, but against the best defense in football, I thought he played pretty well. So I do have become like a believer in Daniel Jones.
Starting point is 00:17:25 It's just, again, you could have Pat Mahomes tearing his Achilles, and I have pause. Like, I just don't like that injury. So we'll see what he looks like coming back from that thing. They say that they're expecting him to be ready for camp, but the big issue with Achilles injuries is never when you're ready. It's about what you look like for a year to a year and a half after the injury. A lot of the data says that, you know, it takes a while to get back up to speed. and if you ever get back up to speed like running backs for instance never get back up to speed off of Achilles so we'll see
Starting point is 00:17:54 I hope he can figure it out and get back because he really had a resurgence this year it's just I hate that injury so much Jake I really hate it no I'm with you that's like Patellers for me so these next several I'm going to kind of wrap them into a bundle because it's just generally different ways to ask between Richardson Jones Leonard outfellers side guys like Malik Willis, like what does the Colts quarterback situation look like next year? And this is coming from guys like Daniel J. Snyder McMullen, Nick McGill, B.C., Bo Connor. Basically, is Malik Willis a viable option? Is Philip Rivers done done?
Starting point is 00:18:38 Richardson does a factor in at all? So Rivers already basically said himself like he's done. Like he's not going to have another comeback in him. Plus, this was kind of all possible at this point because his high school season was done, which may not seem important, but like that was super important to him when he left the NFL initially was to go coach in Fairhope at his son's school. So early in the cold season, Rivers will be supposed to be on the sidelines doing high school ball. Richardson, I'm not confident that Richardson will be back. I don't think it makes sense for him. I don't think it makes sense for the Colts.
Starting point is 00:19:16 So for me, whether it's a trade for some day three pick or whatever happens, I just don't see it happening. I don't see something like Malik Willis happening because he's going to make a lot of money. And if the Colts expect Daniel Jones to be back participating for them for the full year, you obviously can't spend that type of money. So that's kind of where I'm out with all that. Yeah, I'm kind of with you. Malik Willis could be interesting if they do make those changes that general manager and head coach
Starting point is 00:19:42 and just want to go completely different direction. with this thing, but if those two are brought back, it's probably going to be Daniel Jones or I don't know where they would pivot if the, again, if the Viking come in here and give a big offer to Jones, I don't know where you pivot from there because the free agent quarterback class is a disaster outside of Willis and Jones. There's nothing there to work with. So yeah, we'll see what they do. I think it will be Jones. We'll see if they get into a bidding war. But yeah, I think it'll be Jones freshly off Achilles injury being the starting quarterback next year. Yikes.
Starting point is 00:20:17 Yeah, because even the trade market, do you want Kyler Murray or Tua? No, you don't. No, and then when you talk about like the Mack Jones is the Davis Mills, Tyson Baygens, like the best backups in football, why would those teams trade them when their playoff? You know, we just saw for the 49ers and the Texans, right? The only reason they're going to the playoffs is because those quarterbacks were good enough as backups to win some games. so unless you're giving up a pretty high pick why would they trade those guys right because they're valued getting wins so yeah you're talking kiler and tua and even at a discount i wouldn't want to take
Starting point is 00:20:51 any contract with those guys right now please no thank you all right so up next you guys had a lot of questions about the off season which you know less we're off season nerds this time next week it is the off season so let's embrace it this episode is brought to you by Price picks. Whether you're starting a new routine or jumping into player projections for the first time, trying something new can feel like a challenge. But with price picks, it always feels good to be right. With high pressure football matchups every weekend and Elite Hoops action almost every night, the action never slows down and price picks let you stay in control. Price Fix is the daily fantasy app that makes watching sports even more exciting by letting you build lineups based on player projections. No drafts, no waiting, just pick more or less and play your way. getting started on price picks was quick and simple the app's super easy to navigate it's made watching games more engaging especially when you're following individual player performance with someone's on a heater like maybe you benefited from be john robinson's big monday night football performance i think a lot of people did uh the new early payout feature is also a game changer
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Starting point is 00:22:44 Philip Schatz asks, did we learn anything of value about the future of the Indianapolis Colts this year? And I think we did. Even if everything stays intact on top, there are some expensive players that almost certainly will not be back. I would have to think at least not at their figures. And you and Ben Boris talked about it yesterday on the show. There's guys like Michael Pittman Jr., Kenny Moore, that just don't necessarily make sense at their contract figures. You have pre-agents like, you know, Braden Smith. I think now you've got Jalen Travis in there and you've seen what it looks like. Quitty Pay.
Starting point is 00:23:23 Like, I just think you've kind of got, there were some players with big question marks, and I think we've got some of those answers by now. I wouldn't hold my breath on the Colts cutting ties with someone. I said this to Ben yesterday when it comes to like the Pitman's and the Kenney's the Zaire Franklin's. If Ballard is still in charge of this thing, I wouldn't hold my breath on those moves coming. But when you say like-
Starting point is 00:23:45 Restructure, though, like, do you think he'd be more likely a restructure? You still owe him that money then. You still owe him the money. You just owe it to them at a future date. So I'm not going to want to push it to the future when we need to rebuild probably in the future. So, you know.
Starting point is 00:23:58 It's Ballard we're talking about. Right. Yeah, that's, again, another issue with bringing back for your tent. We're bringing everything back full circle here. But in terms of like big picture, did I learn anything about the cults? I think, I mean, we, I don't know if this is anything new, but man, Chris Baller cannot buy an edge rusher draft pick to save his life, man.
Starting point is 00:24:15 He just, like, layout too lot to is easily his best one for sure. And he's fine. Like, he's fine. Like, I think he can make a good jump next year. Outside of that, man, he has whiffed so hard at edge rusher over and over. Like, JT2Malo, I don't want to say it's over for him, but not a good rookie year at all. Like, just not a good rookie year from him. quidipay has amounted to just not it this year.
Starting point is 00:24:39 Taekwon Lewis, really rough season. The ebucon thing, disaster from start. And we all knew that was going to be everyone except for Chris Ballard. So maybe we didn't learn that, but like maybe we just got that opinion solidified a little bit more. Like, gosh, man, the edge rushing room is just the disaster that we were all kind of feared it would be. In terms of learning big picture stuff, I mean, on the other side, I guess they can always find offensive linemen. And somehow they always felt, Jalen Travis looked really good. Gonzalez and Bordellini played some good football this year.
Starting point is 00:25:11 So I guess they can somehow always find offensive linemen, but that defensive lineman, no, we didn't learn anything new. We just solidified our opinion that like, Chris, man, you got to let someone else draft these defense events. Yeah, I would also say at this point, O-line, D-line quarterback is like the only thing that matters. Like, when you look at when the Colts are at their best, that... One for three. One for three. That is the only thing that matters. for this gold team going forward. This next one from Nick Miguel.
Starting point is 00:25:39 If Chris Ballard isn't fired, do you think he'll be just as aggressive this year in the offseason to save his job again? I see him being back, and I think he's going to do some interesting things, whether it's cutting players or signing talent as a desperation attempt to stay here past next year. I don't know.
Starting point is 00:25:54 I don't think there's definitely not the money available this coming off season that there was this last one. You don't have a first round pick. He doesn't have the resources to be. as aggressive as he was last year. So that's kind of what I touched on at the top of the show is like if you do bring him back, what do you sell people on that like the guys who were injured and like the expensive veterans who maybe had down years, they're going to suddenly like turn it around
Starting point is 00:26:22 next year, another year older and coming off of being banged up. Yeah, I don't. I mean, that hasn't stopped them in the past though for bringing him back. What did you sell them on after 20? 22. What'd you sell them on after 2024, you know? So that doesn't stop them in the past. But yeah, like, I don't know, man. I don't think he's going to be aggressive. They don't have the money. Like, and you can always say, oh, restructure and push everything to the future. It's like, that'd be the worst thing. Don't do that. Don't push anything else to the future. So I, yeah, I don't think they can be as aggressive this offseason unless they make the moves that Ballard has never made, which is cutting a Michael Pittman Jr. which, again, I don't think he would. ever do that. It's just what evidence do I have of him doing something like that? He would even cut Ebukom to save, what, seven, eight million dollars? You think he's going to cut Michael Pittman Jr., his favorite player, like one of his favorite players ever? He saves $24 million
Starting point is 00:27:21 with that, though, but I don't think he would do it. So I don't know. Chris Ballard frustrates me bad. I don't think he would make the move that would be necessary there. They could find a way to push some money around don't resign nick cross could be part of it and that's how you can save some money don't sign alec pierce and that's how you can save some money those are awful ideas though yeah like to go get your tray hendricks in i guess but like still like i don't know which i i feel like honestly at this point is when he would go get tray hendricks and who missed so much of the year due to like a hip injure or whatever you know like finally he's here in indy after he missed most of last year oh yeah but no i mean that it's
Starting point is 00:28:03 it's a prime example of why they just need some new direction in there. This next one from Bo Connor, how big of a priority has Alec Pierce become this offseason and how much has he increased his value? Is he actually a franchise tag candidate? And I kind of like franchise tag. I mean, that's average of the top five receivers in the NFL. So that's not something that every team is going to want to pay.
Starting point is 00:28:29 But it depends on what their plan is. Like if they legitimately do have it. their minds that they could move on from Pitman and accelerate Pierce up into the, you know, broaden his role a little bit than maybe. And I mean, two years in a row leading the league in yards per reception, I could see them taking that route. But like the transition tag is a thing that teams don't use enough. I don't understand why I would do the transition tag on Pierce for sure. Yeah, it still would be very expensive to do the transition tag, but it's a He's top ten, I think, isn't it?
Starting point is 00:29:05 Yeah. They definitely hurt themselves, not extending him early. Now, part of this, I don't think Pierce wanted to be extended early because he believed in himself, but still, you think, like, after his last year, right, like, say you extend him around the same time, you extend Bernhardt-Rind, you can maybe get him for $16, $17, $18 million a year. Now, I think it's probably in the $20 plus, like $22-plus million per year kind of range. And he's been playing some great football.
Starting point is 00:29:36 So, yeah, they lost out some value, not extending him early. And again, part of that's, it takes two to tango and who knows how maybe, maybe Pierce's side knew that he was going to have a great season, you know, but yeah, they lost a lot of value not extending him early. And I don't know if I'd franchise tag him because that is a ton of money. And again, if you're not going to cut Michael Pittman Jr., you don't really have that money to play with. But maybe a transition could work under some circumstance as well, Jake.
Starting point is 00:30:02 no i mean as much as the colts need to do everything they can to lock up pierce don't you just see a team with a good quarterback missing a vertical threat that's going to be too enticing you know like that just makes too much so you think so the titans have around 100 million dollars in cap spaces off season what's stopping them from like a two year like 60 million dollar contract because who cares like they don't like they have so much money like and selling pierce on cam ward is doable i think yeah so i I think it could be one of those situations where a team's looking at is like, hey, this is a 20, what, 25, 26 year old receiver, we're going to overpay like crazy for him. But just getting him in here for our quarterback with cap space that we can't use all of it this off season, that's more doable.
Starting point is 00:30:46 Where a team like the Colts, like they can't match a deal like that because they just don't have the money available to do that. So, yeah, it's tough. It's kind of the situation you're stuck in when you have a lot of these big contracts that aren't really playing at the level that you need them to play at. and then they're not you're not cutting them to make that space because again i don't expect baller to ever do that yeah let's let's cap let's cap the day at that because there's some good ones here that are going to take some time that i don't want to dive into quite yet but this was a great round of Q&A today yeah we only got through like a fraction of the overall uh question so we want to thank you guys for them of course uh and we'll make sure to try to get this more
Starting point is 00:31:26 i do an extra episode to get you a little bit more out there but thanks again as always guys for tuning in today's locked on colts tomorrow we'll be diving into the season finale against the houston texans and what that looks like for riley leonard make sure you guys subscribe and follow locked on colts where you get all the latest episodes and if you don't already make sure you're following at locked on colts at jac arthur nifl and add zach hicks to all on socials and if you don't ever if you never want to miss an episode the everyday or club is built for you get locked on colts add free plus members only discord access and more head to lockdown colts dot supercast dot com to join the club and for all of you guys on video we're going to send you
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