Syracuse Football: Path for Zaire Franklin, Steve Ishmael won’t be easy

Things won’t be easy for Syracuse football alum Steve Ishmael, Zaire Franklin. Making the Indianapolis Colts roster has never been more difficult than now.

We’ve got good news and bad news.

The good news is two former Syracuse football teammates (Steve Ishmael and Zaire Franklin) were reunited on the Indianapolis Colts in 2018 and are both still on the roster in 2019.

The bad news according to Colts second-year head coach Frank Reich is it won’t be easy to stay on this team:

"“Everyone knows this team is going to be much harder to make than it was last year.”"

The Colts got a lot better in the 2019 offseason:

• Currently, the Colts have the most cap space in the NFL (over $55 million), the next closest team is the Houston Texans with $40 million, per Over The Cap.
  • Indianapolis didn’t spend a ton of their cap space in March, but they did add a few pieces.
• The team added 10 draft choices from the 2019 NFL Draft including two more linebackers and a wide receiver.
• There are nine linebackers on the roster including Zaire in total.
  • Zaire was one of six linebackers who made the initial roster last year.
• Plus there are 13 wide receivers on the roster with Steve Ishmael in that group.
  • On last year’s team, only five wide receivers made the initial roster (most NFL teams keep somewhere between five and six).

Things for Zaire couldn’t have gone much better in his rookie season. After being the 235th overall pick in the seventh round, Zaire made the roster and even started some playoff games for the Colts this past season.

While things for Ishmael were a bit tougher, despite breaking records at Syracuse, he didn’t make the initial roster for the Colts. Although he was invited back on the practice squad and was called up during the season as well.

Zaire’s spot seems a lot more stable moving forward, but as Colts head coach Frank Reich mentioned it won’t be easy especially considering the quality of talent they added at the position this Spring.

While on the other side, consider this, Ishmael was a late bloomer at Syracuse. It took him a few years to realize his full potential in his senior season. Ish has the size, skills, and traits to be a contributor in the NFL. His red-zone prowess is invaluable and his hands have only gotten better.

That slow development will likely be the same case with the Colts, if they give him enough time, he’ll impress and be a key cog for this squad moving forward.