Another year, another rejection. Adam Vinatieri, the NFL’s all-time top scorer, the most clutch kicker in history, and the guy who booted not one, not two, but three Super Bowl game-winning field goals, is still without a gold jacket. Three modern-era names were announced by the 2025 Hall of Fame class: Antonio Gates, Eric Allen, and Jared Allen. Outstanding players? Yes. But not Vinatieri. Not the guy who made field goals in blizzards look like chip shots in a dome. Not the guy whose foot literally changed NFL history.
And just like Vinatieri waits, again, so does another Colts legend. Only this one—he’s done waiting. Because when Vinatieri didn’t get his gold jacket, Reggie Wayne might’ve decided he’s done chasing his.
And he let us know it in the most Reggie way possible on April 17 through a tweet: “Letting y’all hear it from me first…. I’m putting myself in the transfer portal. ” Hold on. What? Suspiciously, it’s not a change of job. That’s a Hall of Fame-worthy wide receiver basically pulling the fire alarm and walking out of the building in slow motion while fans scream from the windows. Wayne, the Colts’ unofficial Nostalgia Officer for the last 20 years and their WR coach for the last three, just announced his retirement (or exhaustion). Or perhaps simply a protest.
This one hurts if you’re Shane Steichen, and it’s not just about the numbers. It’s a legacy. It’s allegiance. It’s Reggie freakin’ Wayne. Under Shane Steichen’s first year as head coach, Wayne helped groom a young and raw WR room into a polished unit that nearly snuck Indy into the playoffs. Josh Downs thrived. Alec Pierce made strides. Michael Pittman Jr. had a 100-catch season. This wasn’t accidental. This was Wayne’s fingerprint.
Letting y’all hear it from me first…. I’m putting myself in the transfer portal.
— Reggie Wayne (@ReggieWayne_17) April 18, 2025
The kicker, though? You can’t blame him. Reggie Wayne is not an outcast. We’re talking 10th all-time in receptions. 10th in receiving yards. More postseason catches than Randy Moss. Notably, his 14,345 receiving yards and 1,070 career receptions are more than 17 wide receivers already in the Hall of Fame. However, for SIX consecutive years, he has been pushed into the Hall of Fame holding pen rather than being inducted. Before this year’s class was announced, the former Colts’ veteran had even remarked, “I’ll tell you, if I don’t get in this year, I’m gonna be hurt. It’s probably going to be the first time I’m actually hurt because it’s in New Orleans.’’
Larry Fitzgerald and Drew Brees will hit the ballot in 2026. So Reggie dipped. Not loud. Not messy. Just a little emoji shrug that hits harder the longer you stare at it.
Shane Steichen’s sideline just got quieter, as Reggie Wayne transfers out
It was unnecessary for Reggie Wayne to elaborate. But Colts fans? They hit send on heartbreak, denial, and full-on X spirals. Like a live intervention, the responses came flooding in: “You better not leave .” “Nah fam, you can’t do us like that.”
In real time, Wayne—once the NFL’s most dependable third-down option—became the Colts fans’ emotional third rail. Suddenly, he’s a coach. The next? He is using the “transfer portal” as if it were the NCAA. A fan commented, “Nooooooooooooooo.” While another wrote, “Transfer portal denied.” This increases difficulty for Steichen as the wide receiver room loses its adult in the room.
And the fanbase? They’re begging like it’s a hostage negotiation, “Don’t leave us, Reg!” Wayne’s decision couldn’t have come at a worse time. Steichen’s got Anthony Richardson coming back from injury, and Josh Downs, too, had his breakout last season. And it stings more because it wasn’t about scheme, or money, or front office politics. Wayne’s Hall of Fame dreams keep getting deferred while other names—less consistent, less clutch, less Colts—keep waltzing into Canton. This wasn’t just a coaching exit. It was a message from a man who’s tired of waiting for his flowers.
Now, the Colts HC has to deal with the fallout—and a coaching void that goes way deeper than just routes and reps. Two Hall of Fame careers stuck in limbo while Colts fans scream into the void, just hoping one of them—any of them—gets the respect they deserve.
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