The Indianapolis Colts: A Cautionary Tale

Chris Ballard leaving the Colts with no first round pick and Daniel Jones on a 88 million dollar contract pic.twitter.com/s2ZbHoH7WY https://t.co/CJrHpZvuoi

— Ryan (@RegressionIsDue) October 27, 2026

Injuries are a wild thing and you just never know how a guy will come back from them. Jones looked amazing when the Colts were winning early last year, but he wasn't the only one who got injured and that team has not been the same since either. They are now a shell of themselves less than 12 months ago.

The real kick in the nuts is that the Jets get their 1st round pick, so selling the farm for a top pick in the draft, isn't going to happen in the first round.

Yep, this time last year the Colts were 7-2 and headed to the playoffs, traded for Sauce Gardner and lost their next 7. Cautionary tale indeed.

MaroonBells wrote:

Yep, this time last year the Colts were 7-2 and headed to the playoffs, traded for Sauce Gardner and lost their next 7. Cautionary tale indeed.

I know this much will happen: if Teasley does make a trade, the whining while winning crowd will complain that he gave up too much.

If he doesn’t make a trade, the whining while winning crowd will say he didn’t do anything to put us over the top.

JustInTime wrote:

I know this much will happen: if Teasley does make a trade, the whining while winning crowd will complain that he gave up too much.
If he doesn’t make a trade, the whining while winning crowd will say he didn’t do anything to put us over the top.

Obvi

JustInTime wrote:

I know this much will happen: if Teasley does make a trade, the whining while winning crowd will complain that he gave up too much.
If he doesn’t make a trade, the whining while winning crowd will say he didn’t do anything to put us over the top.

You say that like they're the same people.

Also, the whining about people whining while winning crowd will whine about people whining while winning while winning

We're all just a bunch of whiners here

StickierBuns wrote:

Are most things in the NFL a coin flip? 🫤

In a word, YES.

For various reasons. Injuries, hot teams turn cold and/or cold teams turns hot, etc. You just never know. Nothing is a given in the NFL.

ITs a great topic @Sticky...I had to look it up. U guys may have known it already but injuries wiped em out...

The football gods smite them mightily. And all along I thought there might have been a smoking gun in the front office.

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The historic seven-game collapse that erased the Indianapolis Colts' 8-2 start in 2025 was triggered by a series of compounding, high-profile injuries.

The cascade of losses and injuries ultimately changed the entire trajectory of the franchise. The losses weren't isolated under center; structural columns on both sides of the ball buckled simultaneously:

DeForest Buckner (Neck): The defensive anchor suffered a severe neck injury during the back half of the slide. It was so severe that Buckner openly contemplated retirement during the 2026 offseason before eventually returning.

Cam Taylor-Britt & Secondary Depth: While the team had traded aggressively for Sauce Gardner to make a Super Bowl push, the defensive backfield fell apart around him due to a series of soft-tissue and structural issues—culminating in cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt landing on injured reserve with a severe groin injury.

🚫 Skill Position Losses

The offense further stagnated when key vertical threats and depth options were stripped from the active lineup:

Alec Pierce: The team's primary deep threat suffered a severe heel injury that ultimately landed him on Injured Reserve, removing the offense's ability to stretch opposing secondaries.

Ashton Dulin: Sidelined by a chronic hamstring strain, further depleting the wide receiver rotation.

The combination of losing their starting quarterback, their primary deep threat, and their top defensive lineman paralyzed the team, resulting in the Colts becoming the first NFL team since the 1995 Raiders to start 8-2 and finish with a losing record.

StickierBuns wrote:

https://x.com/regressionisdue/status/2115128346849800320?a=0CkjWZ8x2muAa0m9Mk8&s=46

It’s ok. The Jets will Fk it up.

JustInTime wrote:

I know this much will happen: if Teasley does make a trade, the whining while winning crowd will complain that he gave up too much.
If he doesn’t make a trade, the whining while winning crowd will say he didn’t do anything to put us over the top.

I think our offense needs to get better. Kyler needs to get better. But I say just get Pollard and let's move on. Taylor I believe is a real possibility. Since they don't have a 1. I am sure they want our 1. Guessing we are offering a 2.

I think losing Isray was a tremendous loss on many levels for the franchise and do not think they have come close to recovering. I also do not think they trade away two 1sts for Gardner under Israel's watch.