INDIANAPOLIS – If you were productive in 2016, Chris Ballard has taken notice.
Robert Turbin certainly was that last season for the Colts and he was rewarded earlier this week with a new contract to stay in Indianapolis.
Turbin originally went to Twitter on Monday to announce his return to the Colts. The contract became official on Wednesday morning when Turbin was in Indianapolis to sign his new contract.
Similar to Jack Doyle, Turbin was tremendous in accomplishing the tasks asked of him in 2016.
The Colts signed Turbin to a one-year contract last offseason and the 27-year-old running back looked like a guy playing with a big-time sense of urgency.
Turbin's numbers were not eye-popping (47 rushes for 164 yards, 3.5 yards per carry; 26 catches for 179 yards), but he did have a career-high eight touchdowns.
Simply, good things seemed to happen when Turbin touched the football.
By mid-October, not only was Turbin clearly the No. 2 back behind Frank Gore, he was a major contributor.
Whether it was short-yardage, pass protecting or making plays in the receiving game, Turbin wasn't simply out there to give Gore a breather.
When Turbin came to Indy last year, he was hoping the year would provide a spark into finding a starting job somewhere.
That's not going to happen in Indianapolis this coming fall. But you can easily consider Turbin a starting-caliber player, with how much the Colts used him last year and will continue to do so, as Gore reaches the age of 34.
With Gore and Turbin atop the depth chart again in 2017, the Colts could still add a rookie running back in an extremely deep draft class at the ball carrier position.
The re-signing of Turbin is reportedly a two-year contract.
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