A lot was made in regards to the ground game of the Indianapolis Colts in 2013. The team was hoping to have a top tandem in Vick Ballard and Ahmad Bradshaw. Both running backs were then injured. The team gave up a first-round pick to acquire Trent Richardson. He failed to produce. Donald Brown, the original third-stringer, emerged as a true threat. However, it all summed up to the Colts being ranked 20th in the league in rushing. Now, things could be getting even worse.
Brown is an upcoming free agent for the Colts. In 2013, the running back put up 537 yards and six touchdowns behind an inconsistent offensive line. Indianapolis has given early indications they would offer Brown a "reasonable" next contract in order to keep the running back around. However, by the looks of Brown's Twitter account, that did not work out.
On Wednesday, Brown tweet out, "Was an honor and privilege to play for the Colts. An organization made up of phenomenal people. Will always be indebted to the horseshoe. Thanks to Colts Nation for traveling near and far to support us, it's all appreciated." Now, this could be viewed as a simple end-of-the-year tweet or it could be an unofficial goodbye.
If Brown leaves for free agency, next year's roster will include Ballard and Richardson. The former first-round draft pick had a rollercoaster season with the Colts. Richardson never truly got started, but head coach Chuck Pagano remains confident that he can really turn things around with a strong offseason and training camp.
"We all understand how he got here. He was thrown into the mix like that," Pagano said, via IndyStar.com. "So now he has an opportunity to go through an offseason and be with us for a full year headed into 2014 campaign. He wants to be great. He's got all the talent, he's got all the ability. We would never have done what we did if we didn't believe that. We look for him to have a great offseason and have a great 2014 campaign."
Pagano vows to remain committed to a solid run game next season. They will likely need to add at least one more back to the roster and they could do so in the draft or via free agency. This season's draft class is stocked with running back talent. The Colts would not pick a back until much later in the draft in order to address more important needs first. James Wilder Jr. from Florida State or Silas Redd from USC could be options in the fourth ground or so for the team.
Free agency might be the best plans. Several running backs plan to test the market and could end up signing for cheap if they wait around long enough. Both Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew could be the best options to team up with Richardson next season.
