When tight end Eric Ebron left the Indianapolis Colts, there was no love lost.
Ebron, who earned a trip to the Pro Bowl with the Colts in 2018, signed a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.
Last season, Ebron’s number dipped, primarily due to the severity of an ankle injury that sidelined him for five games.
Recently, The Athletic’s Bob Kravitz told 93.7 The Fan that Ebron “didn’t give his best efforts.”
Ebron didn’t take that too lightly.
How It All Started
After the Colts started the season 5-2, the franchise lost seven of their last nine games to finish 7-9 overall.
Ebron went down with an ankle injury against the Houston Texans on November 21st and didn’t play in a regular-season game for the rest of the year.
At the time, the Colts were 7-5 and fighting for a playoff spot, but instead lost the final four games of the year.
When Kravitz talked to 93.7 The Fan, he said the Colts felt Ebron quit on the team.
“I’m sure the Steelers did their due diligence, but the reason the Colts let him go is that they felt he quit on them this season,” Kravitz said. “He had, I think it was an ankle, that the team wasn’t even aware was an issue and then all of the sudden he said, ‘That’s it, I’m shutting it down.’
Kravitz went into further detail by talking about a discussion he had with GM Chris Ballard.
“I remember asking Chris Ballard the GM, ‘What are you going to do with Eric Ebron?’ and he looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Yeah, we’re done with him. We’re moving on.’ So, if you get him in the right frame of mind, he’s a very productive guy. But he’s a little bit mercurial I guess is the word I would use.”
The Response
Ebron’s response was not harmonious, to say the least.
On social media, Ebron wrote that he never quit and the media should ask Ballard “the truth.”
“Never quit (on) an injury I (had) been playing with since August,” Ebron wrote. “Ask Ballard the truth. He wanted me to play hurt and I wasn’t … I was limping into football games, limping out of practice JUST TO PRACTICE! … I gave Indy my all, always will.”
This isn’t the first time that Ebron has addressed critics since signing with Pittsburgh.
93.7 The Fan’s Andrew Filipponi called Ebron the “opposite of Heath Miller” and Ebron responded with this:
He must be great at his job “long time NFL scout” congrats to him. https://t.co/yHkbImSQZQ
— Eric Ebron (@Ebron85) March 24, 2020
Final Thoughts
No matter what happens next, Ebron will get a clean slate with the Steelers.
The Steelers are going into this marriage with the expectation that Ebron will be better than Vance McDonald.
Ebron’s play will dictate how the response will go.
Besides, the Steelers are used to messy breakups.
Remember, former running back DeAngelo Williams, has a messy divorce with the Carolina Panthers.
Steelers’ DeAngelo Williams remains motivated by Panthers release notice https://t.co/HyAUNEiBc0 pic.twitter.com/z4CBhmMH3c
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 15, 2016
Williams went onto run for 907 yards and 11 touchdowns that following season.
Expect Ebron to be highly motivated as well.
The Colts come to visit the Steelers during the regular season in 2020.
Ebron shouldn’t expect too many hugs from the opposing side.
NEXT: 3 Things That Could Go Wrong With The Colts In 2020