Colts captain Zaire Franklin sent his own message to Pat McAfee after the former Indianapolis punter skipped the team’s final game of the season.
After Sunday’s win over the Jaguars, Franklin made a beeline for McAfee’s field-side suite at Lucas Oil Stadium and pretended the shake the hand of the ESPN host.
But the suite was empty after McAfee eviscerated his former team for missing out on the playoffs, calling out ‘unwarranted arrogance, laziness, and lack of professionalism’ that led to ‘ANOTHER early vacation… which is probably what most of you entitled bums have been hoping for.’
The 37-year-old, who spent eight seasons in Indianapolis, has vowed to cancel his season ticket and was not among the crowd for the final week of the season.
The Colts beat the Jaguars 26-23 on Sunday to end the season 8-9. The victory was in vain, however, after last month’s loss to the Giants. That ended Indianapolis’ hopes of making the postseason and sparked a furious rant from McAfee.
‘In the biggest moments everybody with a brain knew they’d crack… and they did, McAfee wrote on social media.
Zaire Franklin sent his own message to Pat McAfee after the ESPN host slammed his old team
Franklin pretended to shake the hand of the ESPN host after victory over the Jaguars
‘A blind person could see the red flags on this team.. Work ethic questions, NEVER happens on good teams.. Preparation commitment questions, NEVER happens on good teams.
He continued: ‘Late to meetings, NEVER happens on good teams.. Late to/skipping treatment, NEVER happens on good teams.’
McAfee later claimed he wants the Colts to keep only five players from its current roster. Franklin was not among them.
And his words appear to have filtered into the locker room. After the game on Sunday, Franklin shook the hands of fans sitting field-side at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The linebacker soon reached McAfee’s suite but he was not put off by the rows of empty seats. Franklin held out his hand and gestured to shake hands before turning around and heading down the tunnel.
‘As a multiple year season ticket holder (not renewing).. and someone who has actively, daily, attempted to be an additive to this beautiful city, I hope they become a good franchise again.. this city deserves it,’ McAfee continued.
‘I’ve never seen a group waste opportunities/talent/money more than this group.’
On Sunday night, Colts owner Jim Irsay confirmed that general manager Chris Ballard and coach Shane Steichen will remain in their posts, prompting a sarcastic reaction from McAfee. ‘It’s all gonna go great,’ he wrote on X.
