With the Sept. 7 season opener inching closer by the day, the Indianapolis Colts announced their team captains for the 2025 season on Thursday.
The players voted for quarterback Daniel Jones, offensive guard Quenton Nelson, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, linebacker Zaire Franklin and cornerback Kenny Moore II as their five captains for the season.
With the exception of Jones, who’s in his first season with the Colts, have been team captains for at least the past four seasons.
But surprisingly, the list also excludes two former captains, running back Jonathan Taylor and wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.
Taylor, a two-time captain, and Pittman, who was elected a captain for the first time in 2024, are both significant contributors to the Colts offense. Taylor is the team’s lead running back and is a major piece of the offensive puzzle.
Taylor averaged 102.2 rushing yards per game in 2024, the second time in his career he’s averaged over 100 yards per game.
Pittman is the leader of the passing attack, himself. Although he’s coming off a down year statistically after playing through a back injury, Indy is paying their top receiving target an average salary of $22.3 million, second-highest on the team.
So why are neither captains again?
While part of that question we won’t get an answer to, it’s worth noting that the Colts have gone down to five captains from eight in 2024. This reduction in leadership is likely an effort to create a more exclusive leadership group, where only the trusted are admitted.
Following a season in which the Colts had leadership struggles with Anthony Richardson Sr. needing to be told some hard truths, a smaller captain group is a step towards potential progress as a football team as the Colts hope to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020