Colts fans are still not buying into the direction of the franchise, and the latest SB Nation Reacts survey shows it plainly. Just 17 percent said they’re confident the team is headed the right way, a dip from 19 percent last week.
That number lands in the middle of a season that has gone off the rails. Indianapolis has dropped five straight to fall to 2-7, and the last few weeks have brought a wave of roster movement ahead of the NFL trade deadline. Quenton Nelson, DeForest Buckner, Keenan Allen and Josh Downs are gone, while Jonathan Taylor, Grover Stewart and Daniel Jones stayed put despite all the noise around their futures.
The message from those moves is hard to miss. The Colts are no longer acting like a team trying to rescue this season. They look like a club shifting toward a longer reset, even if that comes with plenty of short-term pain attached.
And that’s where the fan reaction gets complicated. A low confidence rating doesn’t automatically mean supporters hate the direction.
Some of it may simply be the reality of watching a team make the hard choices that usually come with a rebuild. But hard choices don’t make the product any easier to stomach.
The Colts are losing, trading away familiar veterans and heading into the second half with major questions at quarterback, wide receiver and along both lines.
For now, the bigger issue is that fans still don’t have much to latch onto. The organization has started the rebuilding process, but that alone doesn’t build trust unless there’s a clear sense of where it’s going. Chris Ballard is gone, the roster has been reshaped, and the next general manager will walk into a team with more draft capital - and a lot of work to do.
Until the Colts show a more coherent plan, or at least a more competitive team on the field, it’s tough to see that 17 percent climbing anytime soon.
In Other News...
Colts Deadline Shakeup Put Several Familiar Names On The Clock
The Colts trade-deadline churn has already sent a clear message about how aggressively this front office is willing to reshape the roster, and the ripple effects go well beyond the names that have already been moved. With Keenan Allen and Josh Downs among the players dealt away, Indianapolis has created even more uncertainty around a group of familiar faces whose contracts are now coming into focus as the season moves on.
Anthony Richardson, Grover Stewart, Spencer Shrader and Ashton Dulin all sit in that uneasy middle ground where production, value and timing have to line up for the Colts to make the right call. For a team still sorting out its long-term direction, the decisions ahead are about more than just keeping talent in-house - they will help define which parts of this roster are still part of the plan and which ones are headed toward a reset. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Get One Key Return As Injury Trouble Keeps Growing
The Colts got a needed boost on the defensive line this week by activating Arden Key from injured reserve ahead of their Week 10 game, a small bit of good news for a roster that has been juggling health issues for much of the season. Indianapolis also added linebacker West Weeks to the 53-man roster, another move aimed at keeping the depth chart intact as the team tries to stay steady through the middle of the schedule.
Mo Alie-Cox and Akeem Davis-Gaither were both placed on injured reserve, adding to the list of unavailable pieces and forcing the Colts to keep reshuffling. For a team already managing a steady stream of injury trouble, the latest roster moves are less about long-term planning than getting through another week with enough bodies in place to compete. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Shuffle Key Depth Pieces Before A Crucial Dolphins Test
The Colts made a series of roster moves ahead of their Week 10 matchup with the Dolphins, bringing defensive end Arden Key back from injured reserve and adding linebacker West Weeks to the 53-man roster. It is the kind of midseason shuffle teams make when the calendar tightens and every available body matters, especially with Miami coming up next.
Indianapolis also had to absorb a pair of losses, placing tight end Mo Alie-Cox and linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither on injured reserve, which will keep both out for at least four games. The timing adds another layer of uncertainty for a Colts team trying to stay organized on both sides of the ball while sorting out its depth heading into a key AFC test. [Read more 🡒]