After Andrew Luck’s sudden and surprising retirement from the NFL, the Indianapolis Colts were left with Jacoby Brissett as their starting quarterback.
Thankfully for them, they acquired Brissett on the off chance that Luck would be gone at some point, and even though they’re moving on from their franchise quarterback, Colts general manager Chris Ballard is still excited about things.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Ballard expressed excitement about the future of the team, touching on how young they are and how good they’ve become in certain areas as reasons for hope.
“The roster’s young, I’ll say that,” Ballard says. “I wouldn’t say we’re peaking all of a sudden. … Look, I think every year you’re working on the roster. Now, are we excited about our team? Yes, we are. We do think we’ve upgraded the talent here the last two years. We’ve got a very good football team. You’re talking about a 10-6 team that went on the road and won a playoff game.
“We’re excited. We’re still excited about the future. That has not changed.”
The biggest thing that the Colts possess in an Andrew Luck-less world is the flexibility to potentially move away from players should they choose. Brissett only has one year left on his rookie contract, and many of the up and coming defensive players on the team’s defense are still young.
Should Brissett not work out, the Colts will have a certain amount of freedom to attempt to fix things next year, if they choose. Of course, Ballard is hoping that things don’t come to that, even if he’s prepared.
“It’s just something we’re going to have to deal with,” Ballard says. “I think you can look throughout the league over the last few years, with teams that have the same type of issue. So it’s just something we’ll deal with and work out. I’ve got a great group. We’ll figure it out. This is a problem-solving league. Problems are presented to your team every day. And it’s our job to figure out, scouting, coaching, organizationally, how to solve those problems.”
While the Colts may not be firmly committed to Brissett, the team is still giving him the opportunity to lead the team in its upcoming season. With a revamped defense and a much improved offensive line, things could be very differently than Brissett’s last time behind center.
If they don’t, however, the Colts won’t be happy, but will at least be able to adjust accordingly.
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