Indianapolis Colts

The organizational restructuring for the Indianapolis Colts will not include the firing of general manager Chris Ballard.

Colts owner Jim Irsay told reporters "of course," when asked if he believes Ballard will return in 2023. "Yes I do. There's no question about that."

This is a change of pattern for the 2022 Colts, who fired offensive coordinator Marcus Brady on Nov. 1 and then fired head coach Frank Reich on Monday. The Reich decision came after an ugly 26-3 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 9, which dropped Indianapolis to just 3-5-1 on the campaign.

It seemed like only a matter of time before Ballard would also be fired, but that apparently will not be the case.

Things have not gone as planned for the Colts this season, as running back Jonathan Taylor has dealt with injury concerns, Matt Ryan didn't live up to expectations as a veteran quarterback to take them to the next level with nine touchdown passes to nine interceptions in his first seven games, and unproven youngster Sam Ehlinger hasn't exactly seized the moment when Ryan was benched.

Ehlinger lost his first two starts under center before Reich was fired.

Indianapolis has played uninspiring football a number of times and is left looking up at the Tennessee Titans in the AFC South in what figured to be a winnable division.

Ballard was criticized for not adding better playmakers at wide receiver outside of Michael Pittman Jr. or improving the offensive line. The offensive line has been a major problem, and the fact Ryan is far from mobile only exacerbated the concerns as he faced constant pressure when he dropped back.

The Colts hired Ballard in January 2017 after they fired Ryan Grigson following five seasons.

It seemed like Ballard, who was previously with the Kansas City Chiefs as director of player personnel and then director of football operations, was set with star quarterback Andrew Luck as the franchise cornerstone, but the Stanford product retired in a shocking decision just ahead of the start of the 2019 season.

Indianapolis has been a revolving door of quarterbacks since with Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz and Ryan the most notable ones.

It also hasn't won a playoff game since Luck's final season, missing the postseason entirely in 2019 and 2021 and losing to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild Card Round during the 2020 campaign.

Yet it will still be up to Ballard to change that given Irsay's comments.

Many are questioning the Indianapolis Colts' decision to hire former center and ESPN analyst Jeff Saturday as interim head coach to replace Frank Reich. However, Colts owner Jim Irsay is standing by his decision.

Irsay told reporters during a press conference Monday that Saturday "is fully experienced enough" and "is fully capable" despite the fact that he's only coached football at the high school level. He said he's "glad" Saturday doesn't have any NFL experience and that the job opening wasn't offered to anyone else.

Irsay was also asked why he chose Saturday as interim head coach over the rest of the members of the team's coaching staff and replied: "Because he's a better fit. He's the best man for the job. There's no question about it in my mind, and I've been around it a long time."

He compared it to when the Colts named then-offensive coordinator Bruce Arians the interim head coach after Chuck Pagano's leukemia diagnosis in 2012.

Irsay also invoked the names of Don Shula and Tony Dungy when speaking about Saturday and said he hopes he remains head coach for more than the eight games remaining in the 2022 season.

Saturday played 13 of his 14 NFL seasons with the Colts and made five of his six Pro Bowls with the team. The four-time All-Pro helped lead Indianapolis to victory in Super Bowl XLI and was inducted into the team's Ring of Honor after he retired. He had been serving as a consultant for the Colts this season.

For his part, Saturday acknowledged that he was "shocked" to be offered the interim head coaching position and said he considers this role an audition for "not only for this [team] but for 31 others."

Saturday will interview the coaches remaining on staff to determine who will call plays in his coaching debut Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Indianapolis Colts are looking for a fresh start after firing head coach Frank Reich on Monday.

The move came on the heels of the team’s embarrassing 26-3 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday.

With Reich’s dismissal, the Colts have a myriad of questions to answer about how they can get back into contention.

Indianapolis should not be sitting at 3-5-1 just past the midpoint of the campaign considering how much talent it has.

The offense already had reigning rushing champion Jonathan Taylor as its centerpiece and appeared to have at least slightly upgraded the quarterback position by swapping out a disappointing Carson Wentz for Ryan in a series of offseason trades.

The club brought in some pass-catching help to complement rising star Michael Pittman Jr., drafting Alec Pierce and Jelani Woods with their first two draft selections at Nos. 53 and 73 overall, respectively.

The defense looked solid after adding veterans Stephon Gilmore and Yannick Ngakoue to a unit that ranked in the top 10 for scoring and No. 16 in yards allowed last year.

Reich deserves plenty of blame for failing to maximize the talents of his players. It certainly didn’t help that Taylor has missed three games with a nagging ankle injury, but the offense has strayed far from the identity it forged last season by only rushing on 35.46 percent of its plays.

That is the fifth-lowest percentage in football and down significantly from the 47.43 percent of rushing plays—the league’s fifth-highest—it called last year.

Ryan failed to deliver in Indianapolis after spending the first 14 years of his career with the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta seemed to know Ryan was past his prime, allowing the greatest quarterback in franchise history to leave in exchange for a meager third-round pick.

The Colts’ coaching staff questionably tasked the new starter with throwing 50 times in a season-opening tie against the lowly Houston Texans and largely struggled to get quality production from Ryan.

Before going down with an injury in Week 7 and his subsequent benching, the 37-year-old had been averaging a mere 6.8 yards per passing attempt and led the league with nine interceptions against nine touchdowns.

Ryan’s replacement, Sam Ehlinger, is looking even worse. The second-year quarterback was battered during his second career start in Week 9, taking nine sacks and completing just 15 of 29 passes for 103 yards and an interception.

With the Taylor-less ground game failing to provide any support—if you take out Ehlinger’s team-high 39 yards on five carries the Colts gained just 39 rushing yards on 17 attempts—the club had one of its most pitiful performances of all time.

Indianapolis failed to convert all 14 of its third-down attempts—tying for the worst mark of the last three decades—and mustered just 121 yards of offense in total, the lowest it tallied since 1997, the season before the franchise drafted Peyton Manning at No. 1 overall.

That showing made it clear this organization needs to make several more moves besides a coaching change to return to prominence. The Colts were fortunate enough to secure Manning after bottoming out with a 3-13 campaign in 1997, landed Andrew Luck after a 2-14 season in 2011 and may need to find a similarly impactful player to help right the ship again.

It's obvious that the quarterback position is once again the Colts' most significant problem and the one that needs the most immediate answer. Ehlinger doesn’t appear to be a long-term solution, but the squad has no one else to turn to after passing up several chances to draft or trade up for well-regarded prospects in the wake of Andrew Luck’s retirement.

In the three drafts since Luck called it a career, Indianapolis has selected only two quarterbacks. Both Jacob Eason (No. 122 in 2020) and Ehlinger (No. 218 in 2021) were middle-round fliers with little chance of becoming franchise signal-callers.

General manager Chris Ballard should be the next domino to fall.

Ballard is the one who blatantly ignored the path his predecessors took to making Indianapolis a top-flight organization by avoiding taking any quarterbacks early in the draft. The GM has instead brought in a series of stopgap veterans past their primes.

While Philip Rivers at least managed to take the Colts to a Wild Card Round game in 2020 before retiring following his lone season in Indy, Wentz and Ryan both failed to elevate the offense. The team will now head into the 2023 offseason with the same familiar QB issues it has had to deal with since 2019.

Even if the Colts finally decide to draft a quarterback early, they may not have the good fortune to take one of their preferred options. The team has remained somewhat competitive despite its glaring issues and would be selecting at No. 14 overall if the draft was held today.

The Bleacher Report Scouting Department has identified three elite quarterbacks in the 2023 class in Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Alabama’s Bryce Young and Kentucky’s Will Levis, but all three could be gone before the Colts are on the clock.

Indianapolis may have to make a costly trade up, but those moves don’t always pan out and can set the franchise back significantly. Look no further than the draft capital the San Francisco 49ers had to give the Miami Dolphins to get Trey Lance and the impact, or lack thereof, that he has had thus far.

It will take a shrewd GM to pull off the kind of deal Indianapolis needs to make, one that will allow the team an earlier first-round pick without costing it too much.

Cap issues will start to creep up on the Colts soon as well. Pricy extensions for Taylor and Pittman are on the horizon, and while the team could find some relief by dumping the contracts of Gilmore and DeForest Buckner, it will likely be forced to eat at least some of Ryan’s $29.2 million salary in 2023.

Finding the right coach could take some time too. Jeff Saturday is an intriguing interim option for the club, but it remains to be seen if he can translate his on-field success to the sidelines. The former center is a fan favorite after spending 13 of his 14 NFL seasons in Indianapolis—where he made six Pro Bowls and earned a pair of All-Pro nods—but he has zero collegiate or professional experience as a coach.

Since his retirement after the 2012 season, Saturday has mostly spent his time working as an ESPN analyst. He did spend three years as head coach at Hebron Christian Academy but went just 20-16 during his stint with the high school.

While Saturday could turn out to be a surprisingly competent coach during his impending eight-game trial, it seems more likely the Colts opt for a more experienced candidate to fill the vacancy on a permanent basis.

There are some intriguing candidates potentially available, with Sean Payton recently revealing that he thinks he’ll coach again and Jim Harbaugh admitting he has “unfinished business” in the NFL.

Regardless of which coach the Colts award the position to, they’ll have a tall task ahead of them. Reich went 40-33-1 with a 1-2 record in the playoffs during his four-and-a-half-year tenure but couldn’t spark Indianapolis into contention with a consistent offense despite being a well-regarded coordinator with the Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles prior to his hiring.

Fixing the offense and developing a franchise quarterback will be Indianapolis’ top priorities heading into 2023. The offensive line is also a work in progress and could benefit from a full season of bringing along some young talent in the trenches.

If the Colts find a general manager who can unearth the right signal-caller and hire a coach to properly develop that player, the franchise could be back on track by 2024 and ready to consistently contend for the foreseeable future.

If the team doesn't fire Ballard, misses out on a promising quarterback prospect, settles for another stopgap veteran under center and doesn’t hire the right coach, the Colts will be in grave danger of taking yet another step back and will likely find themselves trying to answer these familiar questions all over again in 2024.

The Indianapolis Colts named former center Jeff Saturday as their interim head coach Monday.

This comes after the team fired head coach Frank Reich, who had led the Colts to a 3-5-1 record this season.

Saturday spent 13 seasons with the Colts, making 197 appearances, and finished his career with the Green Bay Packers. He was a six-time Pro Bowler and a two-time All-Pro.

Indianapolis' decision to make Saturday the head coach, even on an interim basis, is a shock. He has no experience as an NFL head coach, having turned down the opportunity in 2019 to become the Colts' offensive line coach:

As best as I can tell, Jeff Saturday becomes the first person in NFL history to be named a head coach without any coaching experience at either the NFL or college level.

He now takes over in Indy.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 7, 2022

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero noted the Rooney Rule doesn't come into play whenever a team is hiring an interim head coach. Still, the optics aren't good when Saturday bypasses the line to this degree.

From NFL Now: The #Colts hire Jeff Saturday as their interim coach, a move that no doubt highly qualified candidates who are minorities have noted. pic.twitter.com/BU0RgY35LX

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 7, 2022

The Athletic's Zak Keefer also highlighted a few internal candidates who would've been better suited to succeed Reich:

The Colts bypass two former NFL head coaches already on staff — Gus Bradley, John Fox — and a rising head-coaching candidate in Bubba Ventrone, to name former center Jeff Saturday the interim coach.

That is a real sentence.

— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) November 7, 2022

The Colts have now benched Matt Ryan for Sam Ehlinger, a move that made an ailing offense even worse. Indianapolis mustered just 121 total yards and averaged 2.0 yards per play in Sunday's 26-3 loss to the New England Patriots.

Now the franchise has jettisoned Reich, someone with two playoff trips in his first four years, for a replacement about to embark on his first coaching gig.

It sure looks like Indianapolis is waving the white flag and focusing on draft position.

In the case of Saturday, the plan might go beyond bringing back a fan favorite to build goodwill for a time, though, per Keefer:

From what I've heard, wouldn't be stunned if this is more of an audition for Jeff Saturday than your typical interim role.

As in: Colts want to see if he could be the full-time answer at head coach. Why else go outside the building with other qualified candidates?

— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) November 7, 2022

For 13 years, the Colts had one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history in Peyton Manning. Then they tanked their way into another generational talent at QB, Andrew Luck. Their combined presence was a stabilizing force for the organization, and Luck's sudden retirement in 2019 has allowed Indianapolis' internal dysfunction to slowly rise to the fore.

That was initially symbolized by the team's revolving door at quarterback. Monday's coaching change will raise further concerns about the Colts' long-term direction.

The buck in Indianapolis has finally stopped with Frank Reich.

The Colts fired their head coach Monday following a ghastly offensive showing in Week 9's 26-3 loss to the New England Patriots. Indianapolis managed just 121 total yards of offense and scored more points for the Patriots (six) than it did for itself.

Reich, 60, was 40-33-1 over the course of his four-plus seasons as head coach. The Reich era was defined by a revolving door at the quarterback position, which began when Andrew Luck unexpectedly announced his retirement in August 2019.

Each of Reich's five seasons in Indianapolis began with a new starting quarterback under center, with Matt Ryan taking over in 2022. Ryan was benched in favor of Sam Ehlinger before Week 8's loss to the Washington Commanders.

The move came as a slight shock given Colts owner Jim Irsay publicly backed Reich just one week ago.

Jim Irsay: “Frank Reich’s job is safe” pic.twitter.com/51c7xZH4su

— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) November 7, 2022

Jim Irsay’s last month
Bench Matt Ryan
Push out OC
Fire Frank Reich

Gonna be a tough job to fill because dealing with that owner is gonna be brutal.

Also, no QB

— Jason McIntyre (@jasonrmcintyre) November 7, 2022

The #Colts in the last two weeks:

Oct. 24: Benched Matt Ryan for Sam Ehlinger.

Oct. 30: Lost to the Commanders at home after leading by 9 in the 4th quarter.

Nov. 1: Fired OC Marcus Brady

Nov. 6: Lost 26-3 to the Patriots.

Nov. 7: Fired HC Frank Reich.

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 7, 2022

In August of 2021, Jim Irsay signed both Chris Ballard and Frank Reich to contract extensions through the 2026 season. Fifteen months later Reich is out.

— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) November 7, 2022

Frank Reich tried benching the QB, firing his OC, but ran out of scapegoats. Now he’s out in Indy.

— Mike Jones (@ByMikeJones) November 7, 2022

Eight days ago, Jim Irsay said he's giving no thought to firing Frank Reich or Chris Ballard. “I’m in a great spot with Chris and Frank,” Irsay told @mortreport. “We’re all re-energized with the move to Sam Ehlinger.” https://t.co/yVExFCaM8B

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) November 7, 2022

The quick about-face from Irsay already has some wondering whether general manager Chris Ballard is next on the chopping block.

The Colts starting over again. Not sure what Frank Reich being gone in November means for GM Chris Ballard but it's probably grim. That is a broken organization right now fielding a failure of a football product on offense

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) November 7, 2022

Chris Ballard running through his list too. https://t.co/Vnoumd3Hon

— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) November 7, 2022

The only question left in IND is if Chris Ballard survives.

I don't see how he can with that roster looking the way it does.

— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) November 7, 2022

Frank Reich is a good head coach, man. Everyone always gets a piece, but it's very tough to look at this roster over the last few years and blame anyone more than Chris Ballard. The Colts believed they could out-draft and out-develop the NFL year after year. It's just too hard.

— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) November 7, 2022

Ballard has been the Colts' general manager since 2017. He fired former coach Chuck Pagano following his first season at the helm and then made an unsuccessful run at then-New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in 2018 before settling on Reich.

The Colts have made the playoffs just twice under Ballard and have won only one playoff game.

The Frank Reich era in Indianapolis has come to an end.

The Colts fired the 60-year-old on Monday following a 26-3 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 9, dropping the team to 3-5-1 on the season.

The decision doesn't come as a surprise with the Colts playing some uninspired football over the last several weeks. Both Reich and general manager Chris Ballard appeared to be on the hot seat.

Despite the addition of veteran signal-caller Matt Ryan during the offseason, the Colts have struggled under Reich in 2022. Their passing offense ranked 12th in the NFL, but the rushing offense fell to 30th one year after ranking second in the category.

After the subpar effort on Sunday, the squad ranks dead last in the league in scoring with 14.7 points per game.

The defense has also been inconsistent, sitting 13th in the league with 20.3 points allowed per game.

The Colts hired Reich as head coach in February 2018 after he helped guide the Philadelphia Eagles win Super Bowl LII in the 2017 season as offensive coordinator.

Reich's command of a Philadelphia offense that was forced to use Nick Foles during the playoffs following an injury to Carson Wentz was impressive, and the Colts were hoping he could work his magic as their head coach.

That success didn't translate to his new team, though, and the Colts posted just three winning seasons in his tenure. In addition, the team made the postseason just twice under his tutelage and failed to get past the divisional round.

Reich finishes his career with the Colts with a 40-33-1 record.

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor's lingering ankle issues will keep him out of another game.

Head coach Frank Reich announced Taylor won't play Sunday vs. the New England Patriots. The 2021 Pro Bowler didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday.

This will be the third game Taylor has missed this season since suffering an ankle injury in Week 4 against the Tennessee Titans. He sat out the next two contests, both wins over the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars.

The 23-year-old was having a solid year before being sidelined, rushing for 328 yards and one touchdown in four games. He also caught nine passes for 44 yards. For the season, he's compiled 462 rushing yards and one TD, with 16 catches for 71 yards and a score.

This is the first time Taylor has missed more than one game in a season in his three-year career. He appeared in 15 games during his rookie season in 2020 and appeared in all 17 games in 2021.

Taylor went on to finish as last season's rushing champion with 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground. He also caught 40 passes for 360 yards and two scores.

With Taylor sidelined, the Colts will likely rely heavily on Deon Jackson this week. Zack Moss, who was acquired this week in a trade with the Buffalo Bills, was a full participant in practice on Thursday.

If the coaching staff thinks Moss has a good feel for the playbook, he could see plenty of reps against the Patriots.

The Colts enter Week 9 with a 3-4-1 record, second place in the AFC South.

Already boasting one of the best offenses in the NFL, the Buffalo Bills have added to their group of running backs by acquiring Nyheim Hines from the Indianapolis Colts before the trade deadline.

Indianapolis will receive running back Zack Moss and a conditional sixth-round pick in return.

ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported the deal.

Buffalo will have Hines under contract through the 2024 season, with his salary in each of the next two years not guaranteed.

RB Nyheim Hines brings a 2 1/2 year, $12.27M contract with him to the #Bills, including:

2022: $2M ($1.8M guaranteed)
2023: $4.79M (non-guaranteed)
2024: $5.48M (non-guaranteed)#Colts Dead Cap
2022: $3.1M
2023: $3M ($4.79M saved)https://t.co/XBqCddwUtm

— Spotrac (@spotrac) November 1, 2022

Moss has $1.71 million remaining on his deal through next season, but the money is nonguaranteed.

The Colts didn't necessarily go into sell mode at the trade deadline, but their move to bench Matt Ryan and make Sam Ehlinger the starting quarterback suggests they are looking toward the future.

Adding a potential fifth-round draft pick for their backup running back is good value for the Colts. They now have eight picks in the 2023 NFL draft, with potentially two in the fifth round.

The Bills are all-in for this season, as they should be. They currently are the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a 6-1 record, rank first in the NFL scoring defense (14.0 points per game), second in scoring offense (29.0 points per game) and have the league's best point differential (105).

No other team is within 27 points of Buffalo's scoring margin (78, Philadelphia Eagles). Zack Moss fell down to third on the depth chart this season with the addition of rookie James Cook.

Devin Singletary will likely remain the No. 1 running back for the Bills. He's having a solid season with 506 yards from scrimmage on 94 touches.

Hines' primary value in Buffalo figures to be as a receiving back. The 25-year-old has 235 receptions in 72 career games with the Colts dating back to 2018. He'd been an effective running back at times, including averaging a career-high 4.9 yards per carry in 2021.

Josh Allen has targeted running backs 46 times this season. The bulk of those have gone to Singletary (30), but expect head coach Sean McDermott and offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey to get Hines involved in the passing game.

The Indianapolis Colts announced the firing of offensive coordinator Marcus Brady on Tuesday following a 17-16 loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 8.

Colts head coach Frank Reich said in a statement:

"This was an incredibly hard decision, but one I felt needed to be made in the best interest of the team. I appreciate Marcus's commitment to the organization, and he made a significant contribution to our offensive success over the last five seasons. I wish him the best moving forward."

The Colts are a disappointing 3-4-1 this season, and they rank 30th in the NFL in scoring with just 16.1 points per game.

Brady, 43, was in the midst of his second season as the Colts' OC after serving as their assistant quarterbacks coach in 2018 and their quarterbacks coach in 2019 and 2020.

After playing quarterback for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Montreal Alouettes, Brady spent time as a wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator for the Alouettes and Argos, winning three Grey Cups as a coach.

Reich hired Brady to his staff when he became the Colts' head coach in 2018, and he worked his way up the ladder to offensive coordinator, replacing Nick Sirianni when he was hired as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.

With Brady and Reich running the offense last season, the Colts ranked ninth in scoring with 26.5 points per game and second in rushing with 149.4 yards per game, spearheaded by a spectacular season from running back Jonathan Taylor.

Indy ranked just 26th in passing, however, and missed the playoffs. That prompted the Colts to trade quarterback Carson Wentz to the Commanders and acquire veteran signal-caller Matt Ryan from the Atlanta Falcons.

Ryan went 3-3-1 in seven starts, throwing for 2,008 yards, nine touchdowns and a league-worst nine interceptions, prompting the Colts to bench Ryan in favor of Sam Ehlinger.

The move didn't give Indianapolis the type of offensive boost it hoped for, as Ehlinger threw for 201 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in his first career start against the Commanders.

In addition to their inability to score, the Colts are just 18th in the NFL in total offense this season. While poor quarterback play has contributed to that, the bigger issue may be Taylor dealing with injuries and ineffectiveness, as the Colts have dropped to 29th in the league in rushing yards per game at just 87.8.

While the Colts have struggled in most facets this season, they are still second in the AFC South, behind only the 5-2 Tennessee Titans.

There is time for the Colts to turn things around and get back in the playoff hunt, and the organization seemingly hopes that a coaching change on the offensive side of the ball will serve as a catalyst.

Tuesday's NFL trade deadline is quickly approaching, and teams looking for backfield help are reportedly reaching out to the Indianapolis Colts to check the availability of their backup running back.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, teams around the league have contacted the Colts to inquire about trading for fifth-year running back Nyheim Hines.

Everything I’m hearing right now about the status of things with Colts RB Nyheim Hines indicates odds are good he will be traded by tomorrow’s deadline. Colts haven’t gotten the offer they want just yet, but there’s a strong feeling they just might. Stay tuned.

— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) November 1, 2022

Since being drafted with a fourth-round pick in 2018, Hines has had a consistent role in the Colts offense thanks to his versatility.

The 25-year-old has only missed one game in his entire career and has totaled over 500 scrimmage yards in each of his first four NFL seasons. His best season came in 2020 when he recorded 862 scrimmage yards and seven touchdowns.

Through seven games in 2022, Hines has notched 224 yards from scrimmage with a score. He also has returned 11 punts for 111 yards. The Colts signed him to a three-year, $18.6 million contract extension in September 2021.

Indianapolis has one of the best running backs in the NFL on its roster in Jonathan Taylor. The 2021 rushing champion hasn't been as effective this season as he's been hobbled by an ankle injury, recording 462 rushing yards and a touchdown in six games. Hines also recently sat out after being placed in concussion protocol.

The emergence of second-year running back Deon Jackson has likely made Hines expendable if the Colts are offered the right price. When given a bigger role in Weeks 5 and 6 with Taylor injured, Jackson totaled 104 rushing yards and a touchdown on 25 carries along with 14 catches for 108 receiving yards.

However, Taylor's durability this season remains a question, so Indianapolis could hold on to a dependable backup like Hines unless a team offers a deal they can't resist.