Since Chris Ballard took over as general manager of the Indianapolis Colts in 2017, one of the biggest mantras he preached was making sure the locker room was up to standard before splurging in free agency.
Every year, Ballard echoed the same thoughts: The locker room isn’t ready. The young core of the roster is still growing and understanding life in the NFL. It might not be time to diverge from the culture taking place in the locker room.
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Now three years in, Ballard changed his tune a bit in regards to the locker room. With the young players growing into leadership roles, Ballard isn’t as hesitant to pursue a big name on the market.
“Yeah, I do,” Ballard said at the NFL combine. “We have good guys. We have a good locker room. We talked a lot at the end of the season about needing more friction. Lord knows, I’ve had a lot of talks with our players about that.”
The locker room is an important aspect of a team’s success. There is a debate as to whether chemistry produces winning or winning produces chemistry. Both are probably true. But if a locker room isn’t working under the singular goal of winning a championship, it can easily get distracted by big-name additions.
Much to the chagrin of Colts fans, Ballard has passed on splurging in free agency. The biggest name they brought in was Justin Houston, who continues to have a solid career. But even then, the veteran was signed to a two-year deal.
The Colts are still going to build the roster through the draft. That philosophy won’t change in Ballard’s eyes. But now that the foundation has been set—both in talent and mentality—he can begin adding some big names to the roster without worrying about how the locker room might react.
When the new league year hits in March, the Colts will have a chance to add some big names. They have a ton of salary cap space and despite their quarterback situation, there is still a lot of optimism about the future.
We will have to wait and see what kind of moves Ballard will make in free agency, but it appears he’s finally ready to pursue some bigger names.
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