This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning. Here’s Robert Zeglinski.
I know Jim Irsay likes to think the Indianapolis Colts are still a marquee franchise, but nothing could be further from the truth.
It’s thanks to their crater under center.
Ever since Andrew Luck retired in 2019, the Colts have been an aimless ship, sailing around rough waters. They tried to correct course by acquiring late-stage Phillip Rivers, perennial disappointment Carson Wentz, and the washed-up Matt Ryan. You can guess how that went for them.
One playoff berth. Thirty-one wins in four years. The picture of uninspiring and middling mediocrity. This is what happens when you take the easy way out. This is what happens when you barely even try.
Irsay and general manager Chris Ballard and Co. no longer have such a “luxury.” But they still seem content to mess around.
News of Lamar Jackson’s trade request sparked reflective comments from the Colts’ enigmatic owner. After all, why wouldn’t Indianapolis be interested in a 26-year-old former MVP who has proven he can carry an offense by himself? The fit almost makes too much sense.
Get it done, Colts! Make yourself a relevant franchise again! What are you waiting for? Go, go, go!
Oh, right, Irsay simply doesn’t want to hand out a lucrative, fully guaranteed contract. Ah, OK, well, I hope you like perennial journeyman Teddy Bridgewater. That sound you hear is a grand piano dropping on the head of whatever future the Colts still think they have.
Then there’s the matter of the upcoming draft.
Theoretically, Indianapolis is still in a great spot with the No. 4 overall pick. Theoretically, they’ll get to select a quarterback. But after the Carolina Panthers’ trade up to No. 1 overall, they do not have their pick of the litter. The Colts have to wait their turn. And once the Arizona Cardinals are done wheeling and dealing, Indy might have everyone’s literal fourth choice.
Yet, somehow, the king of sitting on his hands — Ballard — is OK with this strategy. (Whispers) Ballard is in his seventh year as GM. Below you’ll find a carbon copy of a statement he’s said every year around this time.
Just swap out a few words and rinse, repeat.
Chris Ballard on not trading up w/ Carolina for the 1st pick:
"History kind of tells you when you when you do that, you better know what you're getting … we weren't quite ready to do that. And we feel like there was enough depth in in the draft that we were gonna be OK."
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) March 27, 2023
I don’t know about you, but settling for leftovers is not how you invest in the NFL’s most important position. It’s practically begging to be caught in a vicious cycle where you’re picking in the top five again within a matter of years once this quarterback crashes and burns.
But I suppose it’s the Colts’ way, isn’t it?
Waiting for that perfect moment to just … drop in your lap. That franchise quarterback who will change your fortunes for a decade or more falling out of the sky. It happened with No. 1 overall pick Peyton Manning. It essentially happened with the No. 1 overall pick Luck.
But those were rolls of the die you simply couldn’t count on being sustainable. The Colts happened to be the worst team in the league when two generational signal-callers were available. It was an incredible fortune.
Unless the Colts enjoy such unprecedented luck again, they better start taking a more proactive approach to quarterback. This year. Or else they quickly become one of football’s favorite laughingstocks.
They might already be there unless they do something about it.
Quick Hits: Nestor Cortes gets petty … Patrick Mahomes dislikes TNF change … and more.
- The Yankees’ Nestor Cortes got called for a “quick pitch.” He had the pettiest response on the next pitch.
- NFL teams can now play two Thursday Night Football games a year. Patrick Mahomes isn’t a fan.
- John Cena said he could see Caitlin Clark after the Iowa star used his signature move.
- Speaking of screwing up at quarterback, Jets GM Joe Douglas has a terrible poker face.
