INDIANAPOLIS — The twin contract situations of Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce have overwhelmed the Colts’ offseason so far.
With good reason.
Indianapolis believes deeply that bringing back Jones and Pierce gives it a chance to put together the same offense that tore through the first half of the NFL season in 2025 before a devastating injury to Jones derailed the season.
But the reality is bringing back Jones and Pierce only preserves the possibility of the offense regaining its efficiency and explosiveness.
The Colts need to sign a defensive end in free agency if they’re going to get any better.
For most of Ballard’s tenure, that likely meant staying quiet in the first wave of free agency, then identifying undervalued assets in the second wave, but the Indianapolis general manager changed his philosophy last March. Ballard outbid the Saints for the top cornerback available, Charvarius Ward, and committed big money to free safety Charvarius Ward in addition to his pursuit of Jones.
Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon cited Ballard’s newfound aggression as one of the reasons he was brought back for his 10th season in Indianapolis.
Dialing it back now would be a mistake.
“We were more aggressive a year ago, not only in free agency, but in-season trades and I think we’ll continue down that path,” Ballard said. “Wherever we think we can add and gives ourselves the best chance to be a Super Bowl winning team that’s what we’ll do.”
The need
Even if Jones had been able to stay healthy, Indianapolis had a fatal weakness. The Colts have only one game-changing pass rusher, veteran defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. When he went down because of a herniated disc in his neck, the Indianapolis pass rush wilted.
The Colts had 26 sacks in eight games with a healthy Buckner anchoring the pass rush.
They had 13 sacks in the final nine games without him.
“We do have work to do,” Ballard said. “Unfortunately, last year, when Tyquan (Lewis) got hurt and Samson (Ebukam) got hurt, it affected the group. We’ve definitely got to add fuel to that position, players.”
Lewis, Ebukam and 2021 first-rounder Kwity Paye are all free agents.
The Colts may let all three players find new homes elsewhere. Lewis and Ebukam are veterans on the wrong side of 30 with injury concerns. Paye has developed into a solid everydown player, but his 30.5 career sacks are more the product of second effort than an ability to be dominant off the edge.
Only 2024 first-rounder Laiatu Latu and 2025 second-rounder JT Tuimoloau return as regular members of the rotation.
Latu led the Colts with 8.5 sacks, but he still needs to take another step to be the kind of pass rusher who alters an opponent’s game plan.
“There were some close-but-no-cigar plays that I think would’ve put him at about 14 that he needs to finish,” Ballard said. “Ended up with three picks. The play in Kansas City, I thought was like, that’s a rare, that’s a special – that’s what blue players, they make those kind of plays. So we like his trend upwards, and I think he’s going to continue to get better.”
But the need for more pass rush off the edge was apparent at the end of games. The Colts blew late leads in Kansas City, Seattle and Houston down the stretch.
Pass rushers are often expected to close games. When a team can’t get to the quarterback, it’s hard to stop an NFL team in a two-minute drill.
“We were giving up too many scores at the end of halves,” Ballard said. “That’s something that’s got to be corrected.”
The players
Indianapolis is still exploring ways to create cap space.
The Colts were expected to have a little more than $33 million available before the team’s decision to place the transition tag on Jones, and there will be other moves to create space to work.
Indianapolis has other needs. The Colts have indicated they’re interested in re-signing veteran right tackle Braden Smith, could lose starting strong safety Nick Cross in free agency and have already indicated they need to get younger and faster in the front seven defensively.
None of those needs are as pressing in free agency as the defensive end position. Indianapolis has praised second-year right tackle Jalen Travis throughout the offseason, likely can find a cost-effective replacement for Cross if he leaves and has a history of drafting starting linebackers in the middle rounds.
The Colts need some proven punch at defensive end.
Trey Hendrickson is the most obvious target.
Hendrickson is 31 now, coming off a season marred by a contract dispute and a core muscle surgery that limited him to seven games and four sacks.
Before the 2025 season, though, Hendrickson ripped off 70.5 sacks over a span of five seasons, establishing himself as one of the NFL’s most reliable edge rushers under the leadership of defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, now running the defense in Indianapolis.
Former Miami defensive end Bradley Chubb, the player picked right before Colts star Quenton Nelson in the first round of the 2018 draft, is a lesser version of Hendrickson. Chubb has a longer injury history, but he’s also produced eight or more sacks in every season that he’s played more than eight games.
A Hendrickson or Chubb signing would be a lot like the move Ballard made to get Justin Houston in 2019; the Kansas City legend had enough left in the tank to produce 19 sacks over two seasons in Indianapolis.
If Hendrickson and Chubb sign elsewhere, the Colts have other options at the top of the free agent pool, options that mirror some of the young signings Ballard has made in the past, identifying undervalued players like Jabaal Sheard, Denico Autry and Ebukam before a torn Achilles tendon.
Former Miami first-rounder Jaelan Phillips has been effective when healthy. Odafe Oweh, another former first-rounder, has 17.5 sacks in the last two seasons with the Ravens and Chargers. K’Lavon Chaisson was a failed first-rounder in Jacksonville who broke out with 7.5 sacks in New England last year. Seattle’s Boye Mafe has 20 career sacks and the potential to take another step in the right scheme.
There are some offseasons when a team’s need doesn’t match the available talent.
Indianapolis has plenty of ways to address the edge rush this offseason.
The hope
Ballard hasn’t been able to draft a difference-making edge rusher in Indianapolis.
He’s had better success in free agency, even though he lost his bid for Danielle Hunter to the rival Texans, in part because Hunter is a Houston native who wanted to go home.
With so many defensive ends headed to free agency and so little pass rush down the stretch last season, the Colts need Ballard to hit in both areas this offseason. Indianapolis does not have a first-round pick, but the draft has a deep, talented class of defensive ends, making it likely Ballard will be able to address both defensive end and linebacker in April.
Expecting a rookie to turn around the pass rush is a risky proposition.
The Colts have to sign a defensive end who can help take Indianapolis to the next level.
“We’ve got to find ways to win ugly games,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said at the NFL scouting combine.
Defense wins those kinds of games.
And as the Colts proved last season, they can’t win without pressure off the edge.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts GM Chris Ballard must stay aggressive, sign difference-making DE in free agency
Reporting by Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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