Indianapolis, IN

Colts GM Chris Ballard: 'I don't run from the criticism'

Published

11 months ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Colts GM Chris Ballard: 'I don't run from the criticism'

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Colts general manager Chris Ballard had a clear message to the Colts fan base.

He said he understands where the frustration comes from. He doesn’t blame the fans for being mad.

But, he isn’t going to hide.

“I don’t run from the criticism,” Ballard said.

Ballard decided after the 2023 season to run it back with a similar roster in 2024. He regrets that decision now.

“Instead of really creating competition throughout and throwing new blood into the locker room, new players in the locker room, I said you know what? We’re going to run it back,” Ballard said. “That was a mistake.”

“That’s probably the biggest miscalculation I made is you know, my vision since I’ve been here has been to take care of our own guys,” Ballard said.

Ballard said that he did not create enough competition on the roster. He added that there has to be real stress within the locker room.

Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner brought up issues with complacency and ego, specifically within the defense. Ballard said that Buckner was right about those things.

“Ultimately, what I’ve done is created an atmosphere that wasn’t competitive enough,” Ballard said.

Ballard said there was an entitlement among the players that returned. Ballard noted they deserved to be back, but there’s also an expectation and a standard that needs to be upheld.

At the quarterback position, Ballard said they will be bringing in competition. He gave two reasons for that, saying competition makes everybody better and that Anthony Richardson has not proven that he can play 17 games.

He did give any details on where they would be looking though.

“We’ll bring who we think is the best guy we can bring in,” Ballard said.

He also went into more depth on why Richardson was benched in the middle of the season. He said Richardson was “drowning.”

“I thought he needed to take a step back and breathe a little bit,” Ballard said.

Ballard said they had a meeting with leadership, which Richardson was a part of. The meeting was about an hour and a half long, and there were honest conversations about where they were and what they needed to do. Ballard noted that the players let it be known what the expectations were for Richardson.

As for Colts owner Jim Irsay’s message to Ballard, it was clear: “fix it.”

Ballard said that Irsay said that he needs to get it going back in the right direction, and they need to win.

Ballard was clear that he is still confident in his abilities as a general manager. He was also clear about where he thinks the Colts are right now.

“Right now, we’re not close, Ballard said. “I’m going to make this really clear. Close is losing on the last play of the Super Bowl. That’s close. Going 8-9, that’s not close.”

Ballard has been the general manager for the Colts for eight seasons. In those eight years, the Colts have never won the AFC South. The other three teams in the division have all won the division multiple times. He has two playoff appearances and just one playoff win.

Colts owner Jim Irsay decided to keep Ballard around for a ninth season, writing on a post to X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday that he believes in Ballard and the collective ability to make improvements for the 2025 season.

The Colts missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year in 2024, the longest drought in 30 years for the franchise.

More Colts coverage

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Indianapolis, IN

Philip Rivers fell one throw short of storybook ending in his couch-to-Colts return

Published

3 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Philip Rivers fell one throw short of storybook ending in his couch-to-Colts return

He had one last throw left in that 44-year-old wing of his. For most of the afternoon, he’d been able to fool Father Time and frighten 68,771 Seattle Seahawks fans inside Lumen Field who’d come to bury Philip Rivers and, instead, watched him push their football team to the very brink of an impossible upset.

There had been a moment when it seemed Rivers might actually pull off the damn thing, too. That was with 1 minute and 55 seconds left in the game. The Colts led for so much of the game and were behind Seattle 15-13, but the ball was in the old man’s hands now. All day, he’d been careful and efficient. It got him a 13-3 lead at one point. Now, he needed to make a play.

And damned if he didn’t make a play.

Damned if he didn’t throw a 16-yard back-shoulder special to wide receiver Alec Pierce. Damned if that ball didn’t mean the Seahawks were now going to burn all of their timeouts because, in the NFL in 2025, just making it past midfield — as that throw did — means you’re in field goal range.

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Indianapolis, IN

Philip Rivers comes out of retirement for Indianapolis Colts: NFL world reacts

Published

15 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

Philip Rivers comes out of retirement for Indianapolis Colts: NFL world reacts

The Indianapolis Colts have cooled considerably as the season has progressed, going from the NFL’s best record to out of the playoff picture entering Week 15 action.

But one of today’s notable storylines is the return of quarterback Philip Rivers after five years away from the NFL. He’s on the Colts’ active roster as they prepare to play the Seattle Seahawks.

The 44-year-old was on Lumen Field hours before kickoff, taking mental reps.

Colts QB Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending injury last week, and backup Riley Leonard suffered a knee injury, though he remains on the active roster. With Brett Rypien the only other QB on their roster and list of available QBs lacking, the Colts called the last signal-caller to lead them in a playoff game (after the 2020 season).

His comeback has piqued the interest of a former Colts coach and players, his former teammates on the Chargers, former NFL quarterbacks and even those from outside football.