When the Colts season ended after their Wild Card loss to the Buffalo Bills on January 9, 2021 it was disappointing but at least had bits of optimism. The days that followed saw longtime left tackle Anthony Castonzo retire and days after that, the retirement of quarterback Philip Rivers after a 1-year stint with the Colts. Two major issues that, if they opened up on most teams in one off-season, would lead to a mad dash to exhaust any and every resource to fix. For the Colts, it didn’t seem too daunting of a task. The trust the fan base had in General Manager Chris Ballard and head coach Frank Reich seemed to be at an all-time high, along with the optimism that the Colts were on the right path and just needed a younger, competent QB to replace Rivers and belief that Ballard could find a replacement left tackle either in the draft or via free agency. Fast forward to exactly one year and a day later and, my, how things have changed:
A season-ending loss to the league-worst Jacksonville Jaguars.
Huge questions surrounding quarterback Carson Wentz.
No long-term answers at left tackle.
And the faith in Ballard and Reich shaken to its core despite the ink on their contract extensions still drying.
A lot of difference a year makes.
So where do the Colts turn to now with so many major questions heading into the 2022-23 season? Is Carson Wentz the answer at QB? Is the offensive line as good as we thought it was? Where was the pass rush all season? Will Ballard finally open the pocketbook and spend in free agency? Does Frank Reich need to get tougher? All questions that were asked by Kevin Bowen, Jake Query and tons of Colts fans during Monday’s edition of Kevin & Query as they attempted to make sense of the Colts catastrophe.
“Perhaps the worst loss in franchise history since the Colts moved to Indianapolis.” – Jake Query
There’s no question about it that the Colts are worse off now than they were in January 2021. Not only do you still not have a long-term answer at left tackle but they are seemingly tied to Carson Wentz through at least next season considering they gave their 2022 first-round draft pick to Philadelphia for his services. The potential retirements of long-time fan favorites in wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and tight end Jack Doyle would not only mean veteran leadership voids at two positions but add two more roster positions to Chris Ballard’s quickly growing off-season to-do list along with offensive line and secondary help. Add all of that to the growing frustrations from a fan base that is still trying to figure out what Ballard and Reich did to earn contract extensions in training camp in the first place and you’ve got a pressure cooker the size of White River heading into a very uncertain off-season.
“Look inside your division at Tennessee. All the attrition they went through with losing Derrick Henry for half the season, injuries to their wideouts, etcetera and they’re the top seed in the AFC and you’re 8th.” – Kevin Bowen
You can listen to our interview with ESPN analyst and former Colts center Jeff Saturday, who was beside himself as he recapped the Colts season coming to an abrupt end. We’ll have all the off-season coverage for the Colts on Kevin & Query, which you can listen to every weekday morning from 7-10 on 93.5 & 107.5 The Fan.
