The biggest question mark surrounding the Indianapolis Colts this offseason comes at the quarterback position. Part of that is figuring out what they have in Jacob Eason.
A fourth-round pick from the 2020 NFL draft, Eason sat for the entirety of his rookie campaign, taking a redshirt season behind Philip Rivers and Jacoby Brissett, both of which are currently off the roster.
Even without an offseason or preseason, Eason put in the work. The Colts have been impressed but big questions remain as to who he is as a quarterback.
“He’s in the mix. We like Jacob. If I could sit here and tell you I knew what he was, I could be a little more (forthcoming), but I don’t….I know this he is a big, talented kid that can throw the football,” Ballard told 1070 The Fan on Friday. “We still have a lot of questions on Eason, but we like what we see so far.”
Eason gained a lot of praise from Ballard at his year-end press conference with the media. But even then Ballard admitted they don’t know what they have in the young quarterback due to the limitations set forth by COVID-19.
With incredible arm talent, the intrigue and upside are certainly there. He will be working with quarterback guru Tom House this offseason, which is an encouraging sign for his development. But in the areas he needs to improve, that can only be done by seeing live game reps.
Hopefully, there will be a preseason in which the Colts can get more information but the team has to be in the market for a quarterback this offseason. Ballard isn’t ready to say Eason is even the backup because he hasn’t seen a live snap in the NFL.
Asked to attest to the toughness of the rookie on the field, Ballard admitted they don’t know because of Eason’s limited playing time.
“I don’t know. You don’t know. No preseason games. No live action. We thought he had pretty good toughness at Washington watching him on tape. You don’t know,” Ballard said. “That’s the hard thing about this last year. With no preseason, you don’t get to test the mettle of those guys. And those games are hard and they are hard on young players because they play so many snaps.”
The Colts are thought to be in the market for a quarterback this offseason. Whether that be in free agency or the draft isn’t yet clear but Eason is likely to be competing for the backup role in 2021.
As it currently stands, Eason should be viewed as a “break glass in case of emergency” option for the Colts until they know what they have in the Washington product.
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