The Colts’ offseason purge has already produced a messy kind of scoreboard. Indianapolis is 2-5 in the AFC South, Chris Ballard is gone, and several of the veterans who were shipped out or allowed to walk are now scattered across the league trying to settle into new roles.
Some have flashed. Some have faded.
Some are still waiting for their new teams to figure out how to use them.
Ad Mitchell is one of the names that keeps circling back to Indianapolis for all the wrong reasons. The former second-round pick, still just in his third season, has been as frustrating as ever.
He opened the year as the Jets’ WR2 next to Garrett Wilson and looked serviceable early, but a finger injury before New York’s third game knocked him out for four contests. When he came back against Miami this week, the rust showed.
Mitchell played only about half his usual snaps, was targeted three times, and finished without a catch. Rookie Omar Cooper Jr. also seems to be moving ahead of him in the pecking order, which could shrink Mitchell’s role even more.
Braden Smith finally made his Texans debut after missing time with plantar fasciitis, but it didn’t change much for Houston’s offense. Smith, who left after eight seasons and more than 100 starts in Indianapolis, signed a strong free-agent deal with the Texans and was expected to help stabilize the line, boost the run game, and give CJ Stroud more protection.
Instead, Houston fell to the Giants in overtime in Week 7, managed only 237 yards, and dropped to 2-5. Smith was on the field for just 25 offensive snaps, mostly as an extra blocker in run-heavy looks.
Trent Brown has held up well at right tackle in Smith’s absence, which makes Houston’s investment in another right tackle look a little harder to explain. The bigger question now is whether Smith replaces Brown or whether the Texans reshuffle things to get both on the field.
Kwity Paye’s season has followed the same arc as the Raiders’ season: a burst of promise, then a long slide. He erupted in Week 1 against Miami with six tackles, two sacks, and four quarterback hits, but he hasn’t come close to that level since.
In Week 7, he was part of a Raiders defense that got gashed for nearly 200 rushing yards by the Rams. The low point came on Kyren Williams’ second-quarter touchdown run, when Paye was handled with ease not by a lineman or one of Los Angeles’ tight ends, but by Jordan Whittington, the Rams’ 6’1”, 200-pound wide receiver.
With JT Tuimoloau showing new signs of life, Paye’s absence from the spotlight doesn’t feel nearly as significant as it did earlier in the season.
Kenny Moore has brought some familiar edge to Philadelphia, but he hasn’t been able to stop the Eagles’ slide. The veteran slot corner signed late in September, was active by his second week with the team, and has been playing about 45 snaps per game since Week 5.
He’s been used in a hybrid deep safety/slot corner role and has supplied the same feisty presence Colts fans knew for nine seasons in Indianapolis. Even so, the Eagles’ losing streak has rolled on, with the offense doing most of the damage and the defense seemingly giving in as well in Week 7.
Then there’s Zaire Franklin, who finally had his streak interrupted. Since becoming a regular starter in 2022, Franklin had missed only one game before Sunday, a Week 9 win over Carolina in 2023.
That changed when he was unable to go for Green Bay in its loss to Detroit, snapping a 48-game run. His production has dipped from his Pro Bowl 2024 level, and his Pro Football Focus grade sits near the bottom of the league, but his importance hasn’t disappeared.
Franklin is a team captain, wears the green dot, and has been Green Bay’s on-field defensive signal caller. Before Sunday, he had been on the field for virtually every Packers defensive snap this season.
For the Colts, the larger picture still isn’t pretty. The veterans they moved on from are mostly attached to teams that are struggling, too, with the four players above on clubs that have combined for a 9-19 record.
Franklin, even with the missed game, remains in the best spot of the bunch on a 4-3 Packers team. And Indianapolis still has to live with the bigger question hanging over all of it: whether the roster overhaul actually solved anything.
In Other News...
Colts Face The Same Jacksonville Trap Fans Know Too Well
The trip to Jacksonville has become one of those dates on the Colts calendar that carries its own baggage, and this one comes with plenty of it. Indianapolis heads there Nov. 1 facing a Jaguars team sitting atop the AFC South, with the familiar challenge of trying to break through in a place where the Colts have struggled for years and where the matchup has often tilted on a few key possessions.
For Indianapolis, the path is easy to describe and hard to execute: keep Jacksonville from getting loose on the scoreboard, win the passing-yard battle and protect the football. The Jaguars have been especially dangerous when they clear the 31-point mark and when they control the air game, which puts even more pressure on the Colts to avoid the kind of mistakes that can turn a divisional game into another long afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Kicker Drew NFL Punishment For A Play Fans Didn't Expect
The NFLs postgame review from Sunday brought an unusual bit of discipline for the Colts, with kicker Spencer Shrader among the players hit with a fine after a play most fans probably did not have on their bingo card. Shrader was fined for tripping Minnesota returner Myles Price on the opening play, a reminder that even the smallest moments in a game can draw league attention once the tape gets reviewed.
Shrader was not the only Colt on the list, either. Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt also was fined in the same game for using his helmet during a tackle, as the league continued its standard check of on-field conduct. For Indianapolis, it is one more off-field note from a loss that already carried enough frustration on its own. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Owner Debate Is Getting Harder To Ignore During This Start
Carlie Irsay-Gordon has made herself a visible part of the Colts' weekly routine since becoming principal owner and CEO after her father's passing in 2025, and her hands-on style has quickly become part of the conversation around the team. She has been standing on the sideline during games and communicating with coaches, a level of involvement that stands out in an NFL where owners are usually seen far less often once kickoff arrives.
Sean Salisbury has been among the loudest critics, arguing that players do not want to feel micro-managed from the top, and Bill Simmons has also voiced disapproval. Irsay-Gordon, though, has said the sideline and headset setup helps her better understand how the organization functions and evaluate whether people truly know what they're talking about, which is why this debate is likely to keep following the Colts as long as the team keeps drawing attention. [Read more 🡒]