The Indianapolis Colts’ 2023 season ended on a sour note when they lost the season’s final game at home to the division champion Houston Texans. The season overall was positive, thanks largely to new rookie head coach Shane Steichen. However, everything might not be as rosy as it appears.
On Wednesday, the NFLPA released their 2023 Player Team Report Cards for all 32 NFL teams. Every NFL fan can review the grades received for either their team or any team. The idea behind this report card is to help players make more informed decisions about teams but also to help raise the standards across the league. This year, 1,706 players provided information on their current clubs.
For the Colts, the grades were a bit surprising considering the positivity that comes from the media. This year a few new categories were added, head coach, owner, and Dietician/Nutritionist. This season the horseshoe ranked 22nd overall a six spot decline from last year where they were 16th overall.
The highest grade received was head coach with an A-, and the lowest grade received was a tie between team travel and treatment of families with a D. Also, the lowest ranked category is actually Strength Coaches, where they ranked 29th overall.
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Indianapolis Colts NFLPA report card
| Category | Grade (‘24/’23) | NFL Rank (‘24/’23) |
| Treatment of families | D/B+ | 23rd/T-5th |
| Food/Cafeteria | C/D | 22nd/T-22nd |
| Nutritionist/Dietician | B- | 18th |
| Locker Room | B/B+ | 11th/T-10th |
| Training Room | B-/B | 16th/T-8th |
| Training Staff | B-/A+ | 23rd/T-1st |
| Weight Room | C/B | 26th/T-18th |
| Strength Coaches | C/A- | 29th/T-17th |
| Team Travel | D/F | 26th/T-28th |
| Head Coach | A- | 18th |
| Ownership | C | 26th |
How it impacts the Indianapolis Colts
There is a lot of information to unpack here. In the eight categories from last year to this year, the Colts’ rank and grade got worse in all but two, Team Travel and Food/Cafeteria where they tied. Now, without actually talking to every individual player it’s hard to know exactly why the team’s grade declined from last year to this.
It’s possible that some of the new players to the team came from better environments then. For example, Samson Ebukam came from San Francisco where they ranked seventh last year (sixth this year). So, his voting is based on what he’s experienced. And there’s no question that once you experience the finer things anything less is well less.
It would be interesting to see how players such as Zaire Franklin, DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart, Quenton Nelson, and others from last year’s team voted this year. For example, if their votes remained the same, then the decline in team grade could have more to do with the roster turnover and not enough being done to address last year’s concerns. However, if their grading of the team declined, then this would be cause for concern.
Some interesting pieces of note are worth highlighting. Regarding Steichen, 94% of the players feel that his efficient with their time (12th overall) and that he is somewhat willing to listen to the locker room (20th overall). In regards to team travel, this year the Colts did fly over 10 hours to Germany to play a game, only 47% of players felt they had a comfortable amount of personal space (31st overall) and that the staff gets priority to the larger seats while the players squeeze into the smaller ones.
Another category that was a bit surprising was the treatment of families where the Colts received a D. The team provides a family room at the stadium, however, they are one of seven teams that do not offer daycare support on game day. The top request from the players is to offer daycare support on game day, like most other teams. Considering that franchise quarterback Anthony Richardson is expecting his first child, this grade will most likely improve next year.
Finally, the last category that is intriguing is the grade that owner Jim Irsay received, a C (26th overall). A majority of the horseshoes fan base loves the philanthropic owner, who routinely gives out money and gifts to fans throughout the season.
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He’s also shown, in the past, that he’s not afraid to spare any expense when it comes to singing talent for the Colts to be successful. Let’s not forget that Peyton Manning was once the highest-paid player and that current player Nelson is the sixth highest-paid offensive lineman (second-highest-paid guard).
And yet, Irsay received a rating of seven point four out 10, from Colts players when considering his willingness to invest in the facilities (26th overall). All of this is to say, that it can partially help explain why the team struggles in free agency to land marquee players (GM Chris Ballard’s frugalness does play a major role), a partial explanation as to why the Jonathan Taylor contract extension got so hostile, and pose the question as to how beloved Irsay is by his players. Even though he’s led them in song and celebration after team victories.