3 Veterans the Indianapolis Colts Must Part with Before 2015 Season

With additions coming fast and furious in Indianapolis, it's time to look at some of the potential departures.

The Colts have already released several veterans this offseason, including:

• DE Ricky Jean Francois
• S LaRon Landry
• LB Andrew Jackson
• T Xavier Nixon

But, more cuts are possible, especially when training camp comes around when the new players start running around and the rookies try to make their mark.

With that in mind, here are three players the Colts should consider moving on from as they prepare for a potential Super Bowl run.

RB Vick Ballard

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

This one is a difficult one to talk about, because Vick Ballard is a great guy who has been dealt a bad hand. He's been a good teammate in Indianapolis and has embraced the community. He's done everything asked of him by the coaching staff.

And yet, he may be out of the league before he turns 25. 

In the NFL, tough decisions have to be made, and Ballard is certainly a tough decision. On one hand, he's a pretty versatile back that can get you the yards that are there and catch the ball out of the backfield. A slight upgrade over Dan Herron, if you will.

On the other hand, Ballard has an ACL and Achilles tear in the last two years, two injuries that can be incredibly significant in altering a back's career path. Not only will it likely take at least a year to get back to his pre-injury confidence and instinct level, but it will make him an injury risk going forward as well.

Of course, he's cheap, and the Colts could always just see how he does in camp and potentially keep him around for another year.

But, the team can't let it impact how they approach the draft. They've now signed Frank Gore, which is a nice "bridge" move to prepare for the team's long-term back. But who is that long-term back? It's probably not Dan Herron, whose ceiling is fairly low, or Ballard, who simply couldn't be trusted. The Colts should still draft a back in the early to mid rounds to potentially take over for Gore.

With Herron and Zurlon Tipton returning, that would give the Colts four backs already, which is more than enough. Again, you could let Ballard stay until April and let him battle with Tipton, which will likely happen, but the Colts may be better off just letting Ballard find work elsewhere and focusing on developing their young backs.

OG Donald Thomas

AJ Mast/Associated Press

Once a promising, under-the-radar guard who was supposed to give the Colts some stability on the interior, Donald Thomas is another player who has been dealt a poor injury hand, a far too common occurrence in Indianapolis.

Thomas was originally a depth player in New England, but he performed well in 2012 when filling in, and Colts GM Ryan Grigson signed him to a four-year, $14 million contract.

Here we are, two years later, and Thomas has played in just two games for Indianapolis, the second of which he did not finish. Thomas missed the final 14 games of 2013 with bicep and quad tears, and he re-tore his quad during the first week of training camp in 2013.

Like Ballard, it could be another year or more before Thomas really regains his form, and he'll continue to be an injury risk until then anyway. The Colts need bodies and depth on the offensive line but is Thomas really the guy you want to pay? He only has two more years on his contract and likely won't give the Colts anymore value.

The Colts can save nearly $4 million in cap space by letting Thomas go this year, and with Andrew Luck, T.Y. Hilton and Anthony Castonzo extensions looming, that may be the most value Thomas represents right now.

RB Trent Richardson

David Richard/Associated Press

You all knew this was coming.

The Richardson era is done in Indianapolis. He has been a bust, and that's not changing any time soon. Emotional ties between the two parties have been severed, and it's time to begin looking for replacements.

Fans and the front office tried to stay loyal to Richardson, despite his poor play but enough is enough.

There's the matter of his contract still to deal with, as he's getting paid about $3.1 million in 2015. Because he was suspended at the end of 2015, there is a possibility that the Colts can void his guaranteed money in his contract, but there has been pushback from Richardson and the NFLPA. The Colts will have to go through the appeals process before he can be cut.

But even if Richardson wins the appeals and all $3.1 million is paid to Richardson, it's time for the Colts to cut bait and start over. They signed Frank Gore, which was the first step, but now they need to take the next one and draft a back in the loaded 2015 draft. Richardson just complicates things on and off the field.

Let him go, and look to the future. It was a mistake, and it's time to move on.