Colts GM Chris Ballard On Offseason Plan: 'We Have More Work To Do'

The Indianapolis Colts have been unusually busy this offseason, making numerous acquisitions through trades and the free-agent market.

Since their season ended without a playoff berth for the fifth consecutive year, the Colts have added 15 new faces to the roster and re-signed nine of their own players.

However, there still seem to be significant pieces missing.

Five starters are no longer with the team, and three of them were in critical spots with no clear replacement yet: wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., defensive end Kwity Paye, and MIKE linebacker Zaire Franklin.

As a result, many Colts fans have been asking whether the team is in better shape now than when the offseason began.

"Do I like the work we’ve done? Yes," Colts general manager Chris Ballard told media this week at the annual league meeting. "Do we have more work to do? Yes."

“We feel good about what we’ve done," Ballard said, per James Boyd of The Athletic. "And look, quarterback is such a big part of this, and getting consistent functional quarterback play definitely allows me to sleep at night, which has not always been the case. … We got to play before I can tell you if we’re better or not.”

To Ballard's credit, getting new multi-year free-agent deals done with quarterback Daniel Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce checked off massive boxes. However, the weight of their roster's vulnerabilities remains.

Pittman was the biggest constant and the most frequent target in the passing game since 2020. The team signed free agent Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, but he's never been counted on to fill the role and snap count that Pittman has had in his career.

On the offensive line, the Colts lost starting right tackle Braden Smith and backup center Danny Pinter. They already had 2025 rookie Jalen Travis ready to step in to replace Smith. However, Travis' move into the starting lineup leaves a hole at swing tackle with no adequate competition yet. Pinter's departure also leaves the Colts vulnerable behind starting center Tanor Bortolini, who has missed time in each of the last two seasons with concussions.

At defensive end, the Colts lost Paye and Samson Ebukam, and Tyquan Lewis is still a free agent. They replaced Ebukam with Arden Key and Lewis with Micheal Clemons, but Paye, who started for the Colts as their base end for the last five years, has yet to be replaced.

“(JT Tuimoloau), who we drafted in the second round last year, we really like. We think he’ll take another step," Ballard said. "And then adding Key and Clemons, who both add an energy and toughness that we wanted, we feel like, as a group right now, I feel pretty good about it. Does that mean we won’t add? No, we’ve got time.”

Ballard confirmed this week that the team did pursue free agent defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who ultimately signed with the Baltimore Ravens. He would've replaced Paye, but now the Colts still need to figure out that spot.

At linebacker, the Colts have lost much more than they've gained. Franklin started 78 games for them over the last five years and was the team's leading tackler over that time. His fellow 2025 starter, Germaine Pratt, is still a free agent. Backup linebacker and key special teamer Segun Olubi also signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency.

The Colts signed free agent linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither to likely fill a starting role, but they're still without one of their starting linebackers.

According to OverTheCap, the Colts still have $26.6 million in salary cap space to work with. They also hold seven picks in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft: one each in Rounds 2-6, and two in the seventh round. Although Ballard reiterated again this week that he anticipates the team will exit the draft having made more than seven picks.