Colts GM Chris Ballard should have one last chance at QB

Indianapolis Colts General Manager Chris Ballard has not been able to solve his team’s QB spot, and he should be given just one more chance.  Frankly, I do not know why Ballard seems to be so highly viewed on the outside.

To me, he has not done much at all as a GM.  The retirement of Andrew Luck after the 2018 season did complicate things quite a bit, but we are now four full seasons removed from his retirement, and Ballard has not put any sort of QB plan in place.

For years, the Colts cycled through veteran retreads like Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, and Matt Ryan, and none of them stuck.

Now the Colts hold the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, a testament to Ballard’s ineptness, and he should be given just one more chance to get this thing right.

I do think they made a solid hire in bringing in Shane Steichen from the Philadelphia Eagles.  The next step in this process is for the Colts to focus their attention away from the Derek Carrs and Jimmy Garoppolos of the world and to put it towards the 2023 NFL Draft.

The Colts might have their choice of Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, Anthony Richardson, and Will Levis.  They may have to climb the draft boards, but the odds that the Colts pick this high again might be low.

As a GM, Chris Ballard has a 45-52-1 record since taking over in 2017.  He’s got three winning seasons in six years but has gone 1-2 in the playoffs.

To me, Ballard struggles with positional value and does not seem to prioritize the right positions in free agency or the draft.  The Colts also are not super active in free agency, and I believe if a team wants to contend, they need to take those risks.

We’ll ultimately see what happens with Ballard and the Colts, but I do think that this should be his last chance to get it right.