The Indianapolis Colts have been on the struggle bus these past few years but have shown flashes of being potential playoff contenders. There are many Colts fans who are hoping for a change and looking forward to a great season.
This offseason the Colts have made some serious moves that I believe might help them. There have also been some things out of the organizations control that are going to hurt them also.
The Colts started the season with a 31-21 home loss to Jacksonville this past weekend and play their next two games on the road before hosting the Los Angles Rams on October 1.
The Colts had the number 4 pick in the draft this year and drafted Anothny Richardson, a quarterback from the University of Florida. They are hoping he is their franchise quarterback. They also picked up some great draft picks like Julius Brents, Josh Downs, and Adetomiwa Adebawore.
The Colts lost some pieces on the defensive side of the ball due to gambling violations. Both Rashod Berry and Isaiah Rodgers were suspended indefinitely from the NFL. Isaiah Rodgers last year had a great year and was looking forward to being a big presence on the Colts defense.
The Colts this offseason didn’t spend a lot of money in free agency as they lost 4 players but signed 6 players. They still have 23 million dollars in cap space going into this season. This means next year they will have a projected 78 million in space for next year.
In 2021, the Colts running back Jonathan Taylor led the league in rushing yards and touchdowns. He had 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns. He looked like he was going to be their franchise running back but that is not the case.
This offseason Taylor wanted to sign a bigger contract after he has felt like he has carried a big load of this team on offense. Throughout this process, he eventually requested a trade after the Colts did not take part in contract negotiations with him. In the summer, Jonathan Taylor did not do camp because of how he felt like he was being treated. The Colts are not looking to trade Taylor and have placed him on the PUP list due to an ankle injury.
This shows that Taylor obviously does not want to play for this organization any more and feels like he deserves more money and holds more value than what the Colts see.
This hurt the Colts this past Sunday as they played the Jaguars at home. The Jaguars sealed the deal late in the game as they won 31-21. It wasn’t a bad loss for the Colts as Anthony Richardson went on to have a great debut. He passed for 24-37, 223 yards, 1 passing touchdown, 1 rushing touchdown, and 1 interception.
Colts fans shouldn’t be too upset after seeing what their team is capable of doing. They still are missing a couple of pieces to make them a better team but they can definitely win some games this year. In these next couple years keeping a awesome quarterback and building around him will help them out.
