Disgruntled Eric Ebron Drops Proverbial Ball

Colts tight end met with head coach Frank Reich to discuss being more involved in offense, but then he mistakenly made his discontent public.

Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports

Tight end Eric Ebron is unhappy and says he wants to be more involved in the Indianapolis Colts offense.

He’s not the first to ask for passes to be thrown his way. Large salaries paid to NFL players with big egos typically translates to complaints shared with the public.

That’s where Ebron stepped out of bounds.

Forget how he does drop his share of passes, which is reason enough to discourage counting on him too much. Forget also how despite drops he had a breakout 2018 to earn his first Pro Bowl honor.

We’ve seen how good and bad Ebron can be. And because he’s been targeted less, it’s understandable for him to voice concerns to head coach Frank Reich, who has an open-door policy and values the importance of keeping open communication lines.

But Ebron didn’t need to share his gripe with reporters on Thursday. That’s not being a team-first player. That’s joining an endless list of professionals who inevitably can’t help but remind they are me-first.

That’s what this is really about. As much as we enjoy Ebron’s personality when he gives amusing observations in interviews, nobody should forget he’s in a contract year. He wants to get paid next offseason.

If I’m general manager Chris Ballard, Ebron making his grievance public is enough reason to let the tight end sign elsewhere after this season. Colts braintrusts know more than the rest of us and could justify the value of bringing him back because Ebron does draw defensive attention as a playmaker.

But his numbers are down. His 18 catches rank fifth and his 248 receiving yards rank third on the team. He’s also third on the Colts with three TDs. Ebron has been targeted 31 times and has four drops, and that latter assessment is generous. An argument could be made that he’s had two or three more.

Now consider that tight end Jack Doyle has been targeted 34 times and has one drop with 24 catches for 232 yards and two TDs. Doyle has been more reliable.

Ebron’s breakout 2018 consisted of career bests with 66 receptions for 750 yards and 13 TDs. The latter number led all tight ends. He also rushed for a score.

But the reality is the Colts, with quarterback Jacoby Brissett taking over for the retired Andrew Luck, have shifted more toward being a rushing team. They rank ninth in rushing at 129.8 yards per game compared to 23rd in passing at 213.9 yards per game.

Brissett has been mostly efficient in not making too many mistakes and avoiding risky throws — a pick-six against Oakland being the most obvious exception. He’s completed a career-best 64.8 percent of his passes for 1,649 yards and 14 TDs with three interceptions. When Luck was out there, he took more chances. That’s not a knock on Brissett, it’s just the way it is.

Also consider Doyle is the most reliable blocker at his position, a key to springing some of those runs. Mo Alie-Cox is also used in those situations. Ebron typically isn’t. It’s not his strength. So that’s going to reduce the number of plays he’s on the field.

Expect the Colts (5-3) to be run-first on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins (1-7), who are 31st in rushing defense. Whether Ebron gets more touches or not will depend upon how he’s defended and whether he gets open on plays designed for him.

Perhaps Reich calls his number more because he agrees with Ebron that the tight end needs to be more involved. But perhaps the game doesn’t work out that way and Ebron has to accept whatever chances he receives. That’s how this works, whether Ebron likes it or not.

If he had made the most of previous opportunities, like not failing to hang onto a key pass for a touchdown in the season opener at Los Angeles, letting it come loose when he hit the ground, perhaps this issue wouldn’t be discussed now. If he caught most of the balls thrown his way, his numbers wouldn’t be down so much.

Should the Colts make an effort to get Ebron the ball more on Sunday, he’d better catch those passes, no excuses. Drop another or two and anything he says publicly or privately falls on deaf ears.

When the season ends, we’ll know soon after if the Colts intend to keep him. It won’t be a surprise if Ballard drafts another tight end, regardless of his decision on Ebron. It’s always better to build from within with players drafted than to count on free agents added.

There’s a reason Ebron was available in free agency after disappointing as a first-round pick with the Detroit Lions. He blamed it on how he was used. He said he wanted to come to the Colts to play with Luck. Ebron was confident his new team would make better use of his skills.

Again, much has changed since then. And Ebron is saying what he said while he was in Detroit. In fact, Ebron is probably saying too much even when he succeeds.

After his best game this season — four catches for 70 yards and a highlight-reel, one-handed touchdown grab against Houston — Ebron spoke about how he “dominated.” In fact, wide receiver Zach Pascal had a bigger game, which included two touchdown catches.

At some point, this can’t be about what everybody else is doing. It’s about how Ebron performs.

He has half a regular season and possibly the playoffs remaining to prove how worthy he is of big money next offseason. That’s more than enough time to stop yapping and be more about the team than himself.