The hype of free agency has come and gone and now it’s time to look at what teams have gained and lost since March 16th and where they stand as they prepare for the upcoming draft. Let’s talk about the Indianapolis Colts.
Indianapolis Colts
Key acquisitions: QB Matt Ryan, DE Yannick Ngakoue, CB Stephon Gilmore, S Rodney McLeod, CB Brandon Facyson, S Armani Watts
Re-signed: TE Mo Alie-Cox, DT Tyquan Lewis, LB Zaire Franklin, OT Matt Pryor
Departures: QB Carson Wentz (Commanders) , TE Jack Doyle (retired), G Mark Glowinski (Giants), CB Rock Ya-Sin (Raiders), DE Kemoko Turay (49ers), WR Zach Pascal (Eagles), S George Odum (49ers), DE Al-Quadin Muhammad (Bears), RB Marlon Mack (Texans), LB Matthew Adams (Bears), G Chris Reed (Vikings)
Remaining free agents: WR T.Y. Hilton, CB Xavier Rhodes, OT Eric Fisher, CB T.J. Carrie, S Andrew Sendejo, OT Sam Tevi, DT Antwaun Woods, K Michael Badgley, OT Julien Davenport
Analysis: The Colts 2021 season experiment with Carson Wentz proved to be a failure, and now they’re trying again. I personally thought Wentz was solid, he wasn’t a superstar, but he was a good starter and thought he earned a second season, but Chris Ballard and Frank Reich thought different and shipped him to Washington for a swap of seconds and two thirds after giving up a first and a third the year prior from the Eagles. You would think this would indicate the Colts would be targeting a quarterback early in the draft, but you would be wrong. This team still believes they have a chance to compete now, so they brought in a proven, albeit aging, player in this league in Matt Ryan. The 14-year former Falcon has been declining in recent years, a lot to do with the personnel in Atlanta, but he gets a fresh start in Indy. This offense is better than Atlanta’s, which isn’t saying much, but that’s what Ryan needed. Michael Pittman is an ascending player and has the potential to be a true WR1. They have a guy named Jonathan Taylor who’s pretty good at running back, and a good offensive line. It’ll be weird to see Ryan in blue and white, but I can see this working. Julio Jones is still a free agent, could there be a reunion in Indianapolis?
While they made their big move on offense, it was time to address the defense. They got off to a slow start, but they made some noise. The first move was acquiring Pro Bowl pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue for cornerback Rock Ya-Sin in a rare player-for-player trade. Teams love trading and trading for Ngakoue and continues to be productive, at least 8 sacks a season throughout his six-year career and boosts a pass rush that lost Kemoko Turay and Al-Quadin Muhammad. He teams up with DeForest Buckner, Kwity Paye, Grover Stewart, and recently extended Tyquan Lewis.
New bodies were also added to the secondary, including veteran starting safety Rodney McLeod and former defensive player of the year Stephon Gilmore. Both players signing in April, the Colts sat back and waited for the market to play out and got two very good over age 30 starters. Gilmore is coming off surgery from 2020 after getting traded from the Patriots last year, and was just hoping to come out of last season healthy with the Panthers so he could test the market. I’m guessing he didn’t have as big of a market that he wanted, hence the April signing. He’ll be the starter alongside Kenny Moore, one of my favorite players in the league, and likely Isaiah Rodgers, with Ya-Sin gone and Xavier Rhodes a free agent. McLeod will have to compete for a starting job as they got some young studs at safety with Khari Willis and Julian Blackmon. They also added depth with Brandon Facyson, who started nine games for the Raiders in 2021, and Armani Watts, who’s mainly played in special teams.
With these signings came a lot of departures. Right guard Mark Glowinski signed with the Giants, and his backup Chris Reed signed with the Vikings. Left tackle Eric Fisher is a free agent and it doesn’t sound like he’ll re-sign. Longtime wide receiver T.Y. Hilton is a free agent and I don’t imagine he’ll sign elsewhere, so its Colts or retirement for the 32 year old. They also lost Zach Pascal, replacement starting safety and special teamer George Odum, and former starting running back Marlon Mack. Linebacker Matthew Adams signed with the Bears, but they brought back Zaire Franklin.
Conclusion: I’ve been a big fan of Chris Ballard and how he’s built this team, but I’m starting to have my doubts. I feel like they gave up too early on Wentz, but I will commend their willingness to admit it didn’t work out and cut ties before it got worse. I really can’t predict what Matt Ryan is going to do in Indy, but it’s better than Atlanta. This roster is built to contend, just need everything to work out. I trust this front office to figure it out in the draft, despite not having a first-round pick (thank Carson Wentz for that).
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