Pat McAfee’s feud with his former team doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
Days after taking a victory lap over the Indianapolis Colts’ elimination from the playoffs, the former All-Pro punter called for the organization to tear its roster down. McAfee’s comments came during a segment on Thursday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show, in which the crew picked games for the final week of the NFL’s 2024 regular season.
After producer/co-host Boston Connor noted that the Colts’ Week 18 finale could very well mark the final game of Joe Flacco’s NFL career, the show’s host added, “A lot of people on that Colts team[‘s] hopefully last game as Indianapolis Colts. That’s kind of my hope.”
“I wish we could transfer portal the whole f***ing team,” McAfee continued. “We need like 70 guys to hit the portal. You can’t do it the NFL though, I guess. I’ve been trying to research it.”
As for the players the Colts should keep, the West Virginia product listed wide receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce, offensive guard Quenton Nelson, defensive lineman DeForest Buckner and cornerback Kenny Moore II. The rest, including star running back Jonathan Taylor and quarterback Anthony Richardson, who McAfee went out of his way to mention?
“Other than that, see ya!” he said. “Every one of them. Goodbye. Take a hike. Thanks for coming.”
@PatMcAfeeShow did not hold back on his show today on his feelings about the Colts lol. pic.twitter.com/KhmQtC9Lbm
— Hunter (@HunterCaleb98) January 2, 2025
McAfee’s issues with the franchise he spent the entirety of his eight-year NFL career with began in October after he criticized Richardson for asking to be taken out of a game. The 37-year-old’s comments ignited a public feud with several Colts players, including linebacker Zaire Franklin, who responded on his own podcast, The Trenches before the two seemingly squashed their beef.
Unsurprisingly, however, it doesn’t appear that the 2024 Pro Bowl selection would survive McAfee’s version of a Colts rebuild.
“Guy’s a great tackler. I think he made a Pro Bowl,” McAfee said in reference to Franklin on Thursday. “You guys want him? Third or second-rounder. That’s what I would do.”
While many of McAfee’s criticisms of the Colts were seemingly proven correct throughout the franchise’s dysfunctional 2024 campaign, there’s clearly more to the animosity between the two sides than whether his analysis was right or wrong. Ultimately, this version of the Colts appears to have lost one of its most famous alumni and fans, who clearly isn’t going to bite his tongue about the team until it undergoes a transfer portal-like transformation that even he admits might not be possible.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.