Ahead of the 2025 NFL season beginning, what three words would you use to describe the upcoming season for the Indianapolis Colts?

For me, I’ll go with “now or never.”

This will be Chris Ballard’s ninth season as the Colts‘ general manager, and largely, the on-field results haven’t been there. During his tenure, the Colts have had just two playoff appearances and one playoff win. Indianapolis also hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2020 season.

In addition to that, in what has mostly been a wide-open AFC South for many years, the Colts haven’t won a division title since 2014, while the Jaguars, Titans, and Texans have all won it at least twice.

Overall, the Colts’ record with Ballard as the GM is 62-69-1.

If the team fails to make the playoffs once again, one would assume that major changes are coming with a new GM taking over, which likely means that the coaching staff will be overhauled as well.

To avoid this, we saw Ballard take a more aggressive approach this offseason, which included spending big in free agency on top players like Charvarius Ward and Cam Bynum. He also brought in Daniel Jones at quarterback to add competition.

Ultimatley, the play of whoever the quarterback is will determine the ceiling for the 2025 Colts, but the roster around that player has a lot to like about it.

On defense, this is a defensive line unit that has been heavily invested in over the years, while the secondary has been reshaped with the additions of Ward and Bynum. Also not to be overlooked is Shane Steichen bringing in Lou Anarumo to lead that unit. His more aggressive and disguise-heavy scheme can hopefully help elevate the play of that entire unit.

Then on offense, the Colts have a well-rounded and deep wide receiver room, they added Tyler Warren at tight end in the NFL draft, and of course, have Jonathan Taylor in the backfield.

With even somewhat steady quarterback play, one can see a path for this team to win games this season, and that outcome is going to have to be a must with this likely a make-or-break year for Ballard.

This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: 2025 NFL season: 3 Words to describe Indianapolis Colts