Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon releases statement on Chris Ballard move

Under Ballard, the Colts went 72-82-1 in the regular season and 1-2 in the playoffs. The team would've won more games had the executive found a franchise quarterback. 

Since former Colts QB Andrew Luck unexpectedly retired before the 2019 season, the team has started 12 different quarterbacks. Ballard whiffed on several attempts to find Luck's successor. 

The most notable flop was taking Anthony Richardson with pick No. 4 in the 2023 NFL Draft, even though he was clearly a project QB. He completed just 53.8 percent of his passes in his final season with the Florida Gators. His accuracy has remained a problem in the NFL, as he has completed 50.6 percent of his passes in Indianapolis. 

In 2025, the Colts turned to former New York Giants QB Daniel Jones, who went 8-5 as a starter before suffering a season-ending Achilles tear. This offseason, they signed him to a two-year, $88M contract, which now looks like a "mistake." 

In six starts this season, Jones has thrown more interceptions (six) than touchdown passes (four). He threw two picks in the loss to the Titans. 

"I also want to be clear: this decision does not change our goals for the season," Irsay-Gordon said. "We have a lot of football left in front of us, and I expect us to compete, improve and win football games." 

The Colts, though, shouldn't improve much as they enter another rebuild and search for a new GM. They'd better make sure the next one has a keen eye for the most important position after Ballard failed to find an answer at QB.