Chris Ballard Roster Cut Notebook

Source: Justin Casterline / Getty

INDIANAPOLIS – Wednesday brought the annual Chris Ballard post roster cut debrief, in what is likely to be the final media session for the Colts GM until the 2024 season concludes.

Year 8 is here for Ballard with the Colts season starting on September 8 ^th vs. the Texans.

Here are some highlights from Ballard meeting the media on Wednesday:

Ballard on his status going into Year 8: “I’ve always had a strong belief in myself and in those around me and what we do…I still have a very strong belief in what we are doing, how we are doing it and how we are going to get there. That will not waver. Either you believe for something, or you believe nothing. It’s easy to vacillate, easy to vacillate and go with what the world wants you to do. Either you believe in something, or you don’t. If that gets me fired, so be it.”

Bowen’s Analysis: The reality of Chris Ballard’s resume heading into Year 8 is the Colts have yet to win a division title and have won just one playoff game. You have more than 20 NFL teams that have won a division title since the Colts last did and/or won a playoff game since the Colts last did in 2014. Ballard said on Wednesday he feels no differently “hot seat” wise than in any other year. And based off Jim Irsay’s comments, he should feel that way, even though the resume offers reasons to question.

Ballard on why the Colts haven’t made any moves in the secondary : “They are young. They are going to continue to get better. Things don’t always work out even when you are trying to acquire a player. I’m not saying we didn’t try to do some things. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen. We do think we have good young talent back there and we have a lot of belief in our front, so we’ll continue to let these guys grow.”

Bowen’s Analysis : Now that the Colts have made their cuts and added one cornerback (Samuel Womack) through waiver claims, it’s a bit eerie how similar the Colts secondary personnel is in 2024 compared to 2023. The issue in “continuing to get better” with this secondary is some potential land mines are there in September with C.J. Stroud and Jordan Love right out of the gate. The NFL isn’t a college football schedule with cupcakes in the early part of the season. The Colts have some of their toughest games of the season early on. I view 4 boxes still to be checked in the secondary: Nick Cross playing consistently next to Julian Blackmon, JuJu Brents and Jaylon Jones being acceptable outside cornerbacks, Julian Blackmon staying away from annual injuries and Brents’ health also cooperating. Ballard did say on Wednesday he feels Cross has consistently gotten better each and every week. As Ballard pointed out above, this overall secondary route of running it back puts a lot of pressure on that highly-invested defensive front.

Ballard on Anthony Richardson hearing criticisms : “He doesn’t get rattled by that.”

Bowen’s Analysis : Even Ballard acknowledged on Wednesday that there will be “rollercoaster” moments in watching Richardson. Ballard is bullish on the coaching of Shane Steichen and this offensive staff in putting Richardson in positions to succeed. Richardson doing a better job of protecting himself is something Ballard mentioned on Wednesday. That balance in how much the Colts decide to run him will be one of the most difficult things to gauge.

Ballard on tight end Jelani Woods’ toe injur y ending his 2024 season : “I wish I had a magic wand and could change those injuries.”

Bowen’s Analysis : Hamstring issues in 2023 and a toe injury in 2024 will lead to Jelani Woods playing 0 NFL games in the last two years. Ballard said on Wednesday this was extra unfortunate because he felt Woods was making strides in the right direction. What is the future for Woods with the Colts? Probably as just another 90-man roster member next offseason, in which he plays out the final year of his rookie contract ($1.7 million cap hit) with no NFL game film in more than 2 years.

Ballard on if he has any worries about kicker Matt Gay : “No. Good kicker. Really good kicker.”

Bowen Analysis : Ballard made a reference on Wednesday to Gay dealing with some stuff last season, but didn’t expand on it. Gay did pop on the injury report for a day in Week 16 of last year, but was quickly removed off the report. Now, Gay did have a chaotic family situation after the Titans game on December 3 ^rd , boarding a flight to Utah for the birth of his daughter. FWIW, Gay followed that up by missing 4 field goals and 1 extra point in the final 5 games of the season. With words and through actions, the Colts are not worried at all about Gay’s late-season struggles last year spilling into this year’s preseason.

Ballard on this team’s strengths : “I think this is the best fronts we’ve had.”

Bowen’s Analysis : Ballard said the defensive line group was the hardest position group to cut down in 2024. And a pair of them (Eric Johnson II-Patriots, Jonah Laulu-Raiders) were claimed by other teams during the waiver wire period. How much does Ballard love his defensive line? He mentioned wanting to play all 10 on Wednesday. Ballard was asked specifically about Laiatu Latu on Wednesday and gushed about how the rookie rusher never takes his eyes off the quarterback. On the offensive line front, Ballard said he fielded calls of team interest bout his backup offensive tackles, so he feels good about the depth out there, too.

Ballard on the team’s skill group : “Really good.”

Bowen’s Analysis : Individually, Ballard pointed to Alec Pierce as having his best training camp of his 3-year NFL career. Ballard said he expects really good years from Pierce and rookie AD Mitchell. And he feels very good about the group as a whole. Ballard added that he’s hopeful on Josh Downs returning, but not ready to commit to Week 1 just yet. Questioning pass catching support has been fair in recent years, but there’s also some reason for wideout intrigue in 2024. Will that carry into actual games?

Ballard on Samson Ebukam potentially returning from a torn Achilles: “It’s a long shot.”

Bowen’s Analysis : The NFL changed their injured reserve rules at roster cut down a bit this year. They allowed teams to place 2 players on IR to return before making the cut to 53, with those players having to miss at least 4 games before returning. The Colts didn’t have many great candidates who fit that criteria, but they decided on DE-Samson Ebukam (Achilles) and LB-Cam McGrone (elbow). As Ballard said above, the 29-year-old Ebukam returning from a torn Achillies in a 5-ish month window would be remarkable.

Ballard on rookie quarterback Jason Bean staying on the practice squad : “ That’s a great story. I really like Jason and what we think he can become.”

Bowen’s Analysis : One of the darlings of the preseason, Bean certainly did enough to deserve a practice squad developmental dart. Ballard saw Bean on multiple occasions this offseason, with Ballard’s son (Cole) a fellow quarterback teammate of Bean at Kansas. Ballard said he loves the ‘poise’ of Bean and thinks he’s a better thrower than people give him credit for. The Colts thought the 3 ^rd quarterback rule was going to change in 2024, but still views that 3 ^rd QB role as critical enough to keep Sam Ehlinger around for a 4 ^th straight year.

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