You had questions about Chris Ballard and what’s next for the Colts; our experts answered them

Question: Why are so many Colts media happy after praying for the downfall of this team? It really feels like everyone who covers this team hates everyone associated with it.

JAE: I don't really know how to respond to that. Most of the criticism that I remember taking is that we weren't hard enough on the team and the decision makers.

NB: I'd just like to add that the use of 'media' is sometimes a broad band of people. There's a small selection of people who are in that media room every single day. ... I don't know that any of us are happy. I haven't seen that sentiment publicly. I haven't had any conversations privately. ... This is something that seemed inevitable.

JAE: I think Chris Ballard understands what happened today. He said it all offseason, back to the beginning of training camp, when he said, 'I wouldn't have taken an extension if they offered it. We need to win.' He understands the game. He understands the way the NFL works. There were 'Fire Ballard' chants yesterday. He's known this for a long time. I think that's the biggest point.

Question: Why is it that AR (Anthony Richardson) had a short leash, while Daniel Jones, who looks considerably worse, doesn't?

JAE: Anthony Richardson got two years as a starter with this team. ... Jones is playing terribly. Richardson was given the job when he was drafted. He was given the job his second year coming off a shoulder injury. He got second and third chances.

NB: As bad as Daniel Jones looks, his completion percentage after Sunday afternoon ticked just below 60%. Anthony Richardson, across his 11 games played in 2024, 47.7%. We're talking well under 50% as a passer. At the very, very start of his career, I've seen some videos and tweets that circulated that show all of the dropped passes from a little bit of a rough receiving corps. ... If you're completing less than 50% of your passes, you're not an NFL starting-caliber NFL quarterback.

Anthony Richardson, you could argue, had some higher highs. He's got a little bit bigger arm. He's more electric with his feet. But I think the lows are much lower. Shane Steichen made it clear without saying it when we asked him why Daniel Jones continues to be his starting quarterback. He said Daniel's knowledge of the game and preparation go a long way with him. You can read into that that it's not just a statement about Daniel. I think it's a statement about what the other option is.

Question: What will be the over/under on the number of Colts traded between now and the deadline?

NB: There's only one good comp at running back, and that's Christian McCaffery, who was traded from the Panthers to the 49ers (four years ago on Oct. 20, 2022). He was 26 years old. He was in Year 1 of a four-year deal. He was traded for second- and third-(round draft picks) and a fourth-rounder in the following year's draft, and then a fifth-rounder the year after that. It's a lot of picks. Christian McCaffery was a year younger in his career. He has more injury history, a little more versatile. ... At their peak, McCaffery is a little bit more electric. He can do everything for you.

I've got to stew over that a little more, but that's not a bad comp. Jonathan Taylor will be going into Year 1 of a new deal. You've got some control there. You've got some cost containment. Two years on his deal, if he's traded this season, so it's not like he's an expiring contract. There are a lot of teams out there that seem like they're a running back away: Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers.

JAE: Pending a certain legal situation (Josh Jacobs). If I was the Packers, I'd be happy to move on from the one they have and bring in Jonathan Taylor.

NB: To me, that is the most interesting (potential trade). You see guys like Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner, who are on expiring contracts. It gets a little bit more difficult. It's tough to imagine that something like that could even happen. ... Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner have also done a lot for the Colts during their tenures here, and have been vital both on and off the field. Even if this might not ultimately determine things, I could imagine a situation where conversations could be had in the background on whether either player would want to or prefer to or being OK with being moved in the middle of the season.

DeForest Buckner in particular, a guy who feels he's coming to the end of his career with all the injuries he's dealt with. He's 32 years old. He almost decided to retire at the end of last season. He's dealing with his neck injury. He's also playing almost as well as he has in his Colts tenure. Quenton Nelson is a quietly great asset on the team's offensive line. I think that's the three that make the most sense to me. There could be others that get a smaller haul.

JAE: One thing about the trade deadline that you can't pull off, like a Major League Baseball sell-off that most people think of at a trade deadline if you're underwhelming ... it's almost less cool than it seems. That's one other word of caution.

Question: Are you buying all the Peyton Manning stuff? Do you think it would be a good move?

JAE: My time in Indianapolis starts in 2018. I don't know Peyton that well. I talked to him for a couple of different things, namely when Matt Ryan was the quarterback. They're good friends. And at the Night of Champions in 2025 at the NFL Scouring Combine. What he said publicly is that doing a job like that is not really on the radar. ... Some of the time stuff makes me wonder. They don't do the ManningCast every week. If you're a GM, you don't have time for that. But Matt Ryan is doing it with the Falcons right now. Those two are close. I think it just depends on Peyton. He's pushed back fairly hard on that every time someone's asked him about that.

As far as it being a good move, it's really hard to tell. You can go a lot of different ways with this. A lot of athletes have been pretty awful executives in several sports, like Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter. Then there's been guys in the middle, like John Elway. The Broncos went to the Super Bowl, and they also fired him a couple years after that. John Lynch is right in the middle. They've had a lot of success in San Francisco, but, to me, it's been more (coach) Kyle Shanahan. I know Larry Bird was a fairly successful executive. Jerry West. It's just kind of been all over the map, so it's hard to tell what he would be able to do.

NB: If it would happen, I just wonder if it would be more of a low-key adviser role.

JAE: I think that's one thing a lot of people miss. Peyton Manning is essential to any quarterback who knows him at any time. He'll talk to guys all the time. He knows them because they've gone through the Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana. He gives them his number, and it's open. It's an open line of communication. ... I know when Frank Reich was here, he would consult with Peyton Manning on some of the quarterback decisions. That's his influence on the game right now. He's like a consultant to anyone he's ever met. It's a lot of people. ... To your point, that's kind of what he's doing right now.

NB: It seems like a stretch that he could be pulled into a big-time official role, but weirder things have happened ... like Jeff Saturday being head coach.

Question: Personally, I think after the (Maxx) Crosby trade, he thought (Trey) Hendrickson was a shoo-in (to come to the Colts), and then the Ravens blew it all up.

JAE: I think that's pretty close. I don't think you're wrong there. I think they saw Trey Hendrickson as a Justin Houston-type signing. ... We were talking about the defensive end position, and, to me, that's been a bigger issue than the quarterback position because they had a good season with (Philip) Rivers, they had a good season with Daniel Jones (until his injury) -- although now that looks like a mirage. (Ballard) came in saying, 'We're going to build a good defensive line.' ... They never got to that. The edge rush is a huge, huge deal right now. The Colts were in the lead (for Hendrickson) and then the Ravens came in and they went higher than (the Colts) were willing to go.

NB: It wasn't just that they fell short on the Trey Hendrickson sweepstakes. It was really that the Trey Hendrickson sweepstakes ended three days into free agency. The list (of pass rushers) wasn't nearly as deep as you thought it was. ... There's not been a lot of standout performances from those guys who were free agents, but the issue with Hendrickson is, when you get into those negotiations and you realize you won't get a deal that's announced in a couple of hours, or even the first day of free agency starting, you need to decide whether you're going to go all in and be the last man standing on Trey Hendrickson, or you need to switch gears and look elsewhere.

They ended up with Arden Key as their prize edge rush signing, a guy who for the majority of his career has been a rotational guy, should be a rotational guy on this team, but became a starter until he got hurt because there was no one better. No fault of his own. It all falls really on Chris Ballard and the front office for putting him in that position. They needed to have a better couple of days of decision making on what direction they wanted to go because they felt kind of wishy-washy on when it got a couple of million dollars too high on Trey Hendrickson.

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: You had questions about Chris Ballard and what’s next for the Colts; our experts answered them