'Second chances are OK in life': Chris Ballard defends Colts roster amid player discipline issues

INDIANAPOLIS -- In Chris Ballard's seven seasons as Colts general manager, he's taken pride in the locker rooms he's built and has lauded the character of the men he's brought onto the roster.

But of the many areas where his team had success in a 9-8 season in 2023, this was not one of them. Since June, the Colts have had seven players suspended and another, tight end Drew Ogletree, placed on the Commissioner's Exempt List due to a felony domestic battery charge.

All eight players were Ballard acquisitions.

"People make mistakes, and I think sometimes we forget that," Ballard said at his season-ending press conference. "Guys make mistakes, and they get punished.

"I'm not going to sit here and act like we're just perfect. Football character and personal character are two different things -- guys that love to play versus how they behave off the field and treat people. Now, we want them both, great. We do. And we've been pretty good about it. But guys made some mistakes. They had to pay the price for it, and we move forward."

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Ballard's teams have not typically had many off-the-field issues until this season.

The transgressions among Colts players have been wide-ranging. Cornerback Isaiah Rodgers Sr. and defensive end Rashod Berry were suspended for a year by the league for violating the gambling policy. Defensive tackle Grover Stewart lost six games for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy, and defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad was suspended under the same policy. Cornerback Chris Lammons was suspended for three games after a previous incident where he stomped on a man's face.

Ogletree was arrested on a pair of domestic battery charges in which an arrest affidavit alleges he body-slammed his girlfriend with his son in the home. He is currently on the Colts roster while on the Commissioner's Exempt List, and his next court date is Feb. 14.

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"Drew is on the exempt list right now, and we'll let the legal process play out," Ballard said.

Wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie and cornerback Tony Brown II were suspended for conduct detrimental to the team in what Ballard called an organizational decision. The Colts released Brown this week. McKenzie is an unrestricted free agent. Ballard declined, as coach Shane Steichen did, to reveal what either player did to deserve the punishment.

"Second chances are OK in life," Ballard said. "I think you know that the guys who were here and what happened to them, I don't think any of you would characterize any of them as bad character guys. They made mistakes."

Contact Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @NateAtkins_.