A major roster upheaval set the stage for a new crop of players to make an impact.
Stephen HolderApr 20, 2026, 06:00 AM ET
- Stephen joined ESPN in 2022, covering the Indianapolis Colts and NFL at large. Stephen finished first place in column writing in the 2015 Indiana Associated Press Media Editors competition, and he is a previous top-10 winner in explanatory journalism in the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest. He has chronicled the NFL since 2005, covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2005-2013 and the Colts since 2013. He has previously worked for the Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and The Athletic.
INDIANAPOLIS -- No Indianapolis Colts player saw more snaps last season than linebacker Zaire Franklin. No Indianapolis receiver has been targeted more than Michael Pittman Jr. since he entered the league in 2020. Only one Colts player has more tenure with the team than Kenny Moore II. And 2023 selection Anthony Richardson Sr. (fourth overall) is the team's highest draft pick since Andrew Luck went No. 1 in 2012.
All of these players figure to be gone when the 2026 season gets underway.
The NFL draft is approaching and the Colts are preparing to welcome a new class of rookies. But in the meantime, their existing roster is in the midst of a considerable shakeup that involves some of its most notable players.
Pittman (Steelers) and Franklin (Packers) have already been traded. Moore and Richardson have come to separate agreements with the team to explore trade opportunities, perhaps marking the beginning of the end for their tenures. Add to that the departures of players such as defensive end Kwity Paye, right tackle Braden Smith and safety Nick Cross in free agency, and the changes are even more noticeable.
Each of their aforementioned players has spent his entire career with the Colts.
The defining moves of this offseason in Indianapolis were the retention of free agents Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce. But an underappreciated storyline is the substantive changes to a roster whose core had remained intact for quite some time.
Owner and CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon put the turnover in perspective, recalling how she came to know the respective players during the infancy of their careers.
"I probably shouldn't call them my babies, but that's my joke because it's like when we have rookies, they're like our babies," she said. "... And getting rid of the babies is always hard."
So, why are the Colts turning the page?
The reasons vary. In the case of Pittman, it was financially driven. The veteran receiver was traded to Pittsburgh last month as the Colts desperately tried to create the salary cap space to sign fellow receiver Pierce and Jones at quarterback. With Pittman entering the final season of his contract, the choice was either to extend his deal in order to spread out its salary cap impact or look to offload his contract.
The Colts opted for the latter.
"Sometimes there's ways to squeeze around it," general manager Chris Ballard said. "But this was a case where, financially, to do some of the things we wanted to do, we had to do it."
Franklin's situation was somewhat financial but was just as much about the Colts' stated desire to get "younger and faster" on defense, as Ballard described it earlier this year. Whether they've managed to backfill the linebacker position behind Franklin is another matter -- that's where the draft comes into play -- but with the Colts' defense already underperforming last season, arguing against changes was difficult.
Moore is approaching his 31st birthday, and he didn't quite fit the Colts' new defensive system nearly as well as predicted prior to last season. With the final year of his contract on tap, and with his role perhaps set to change this season, the sides felt like an amenable parting was appropriate. It's unclear whether any deals have materialized since the agreement earlier this month.
And in the case of Richardson, the commitment to Jones as the team's quarterback for the foreseeable future made it clear Richardson's next chapter might come elsewhere. He asked for a trade and was granted permission to seek one. No deal is imminent but releasing him later in the offseason cannot be ruled out if the Colts are comfortable with Riley Leonard as their primary backup.
"Sometimes it's kind of, like, next man up," Irsay-Gordon said. She added, "but, honestly, it's gut-wrenching."
The Colts had a core that spent multiple seasons intact, with many veterans receiving extensions in recent years to give them another shot at achieving some success. They never did. The Colts have not reached the postseason since 2020, falling short with seemingly annual late-season collapses that those highly paid veterans could not prevent.
Now, the central figures on the roster are changing. Jones takes centerstage as he is no longer seen as an experiment like he was in 2025. Players such as safety Cam Bynum and Sauce Gardner will have to assume roles as the tone setters on defense.
NFL rosters are ever-evolving. And this offseason, the Colts' roster has quietly undergone an evolution that few saw coming.