Colts have had no Luck finding a reliable quarterback
It was a rough year for an Indianapolis Colts team that could not get out of its own way in 2022. Can this team find a long-term solution at quarterback?
Whenever the Indianapolis Colts open the 2023 season, they will once again have a new Week 1 starter behind center. With the release of veteran Matt Ryan this offseason, the quarterback situation is once again an uncertainty. General manager Chris Ballard does have the fourth overall pick in April’s draft and the expectation is that the position will be addressed then.
Under his guidance, it’s been a rough go when it comes to finding the right man behind center. He did not draft Andrew Luck, who started every game for the club his first three seasons. He helped guide the club to a wild card berth as a rookie in 2012 and the Colts followed that up with two straight AFC South titles.
However, the injuries began to mount. He would miss time in both 2015 and ’16 and all of 2017. Luck earned NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors in ’18 but opted to walk away from the game after that season.
Under Ballard, hired by the team in 2017, the Colts have had nine different starting signal-callers. That includes Luck for all of ’18. As for the rest, there’s Scott Tolzien, Jacoby Brissett, Brian Hoyer, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan, Sam Ehlinger, and Nick Foles. Even more astounding is the fact that the team has had a different starting quarterback in Week 1 six straight years…and counting.
That list reads Tolzien (2017), Luck (2018), Brissett (2019), Rivers (2020), Wentz (2021), and Ryan (2022). The latter was released this offseason so it’s highly likely that number will reach seven in 2023. Currently, Ehlinger and Foles are on the roster, along with former Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles hurler Gardner Minshew.
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The 2023 NFL Draft is just over a month away and the team has nine selections. There is a lot on the line for the Colts, who come off their worst showing (4-12-1) since 2017 when Luck missed the entire year and the club finished 4-12. New head coach Shane Steichen, late of the Eagles, inherits a seven-game losing streak. Most importantly, Ballard looks to hit a home run when it comes to finding a quarterback with staying power.