Will Colts reward winning season with free agent help?
INDIANAPOLIS — In the midst of a contract standoff with his star running back, Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard fielded a pointed question near the end of a lengthy news conference last August.
If, as Ballard had claimed, running back Jonathan Taylor was such a phenomenal player, why was the team so resistant to extending his contract?
“We won four games last year,” Ballard responded. “We won four games.”
The room fell silent for a moment, with assembled media digesting the direct and surprisingly honest nature of Ballard’s answer.
His words suggested the Colts were taking a wait-and-see approach as they navigated the 2023 season, one that came on the heels of a 4-12-1 effort in 2022 marked by some historic losses for the franchise.
Taylor ultimately got his money, receiving a $42 million extension in October. But the whole scenario provided an important window into Ballard’s thinking. He wanted to see more from his team before making major commitments.
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And, now, he has.
The Colts’ surprising 9-8 season, during which they were eliminated from the postseason on the final day of the regular season, has given Ballard plenty to think about as the NFL’s free agency period draws near. The Colts showed significant promise in coach Shane Steichen’s first season. And with 2023 No. 4 overall pick quarterback Anthony Richardson scheduled to return after a season-ending shoulder injury, expectations are justifiably high.
So, now that the opposite of last year is true — the Colts are coming off an impressive season and are trending in a positive direction — will Ballard’s free agent approach reflect that reality? Or will Ballard maintain his usual skepticism about making splashy free agent moves?
“Everybody gets excited for that week and stamps a future Super Bowl winner off of that,” Ballard said of free agency. The NFL’s new league year and signing period begin on Wednesday.
“But what you’re seeing is, you’ve got the A-level players. What happens with them? They get [franchise] tagged. Now, you’ve got the next level that you end up paying ‘A’ money.”
That’s always been a concern with Ballard and has governed his philosophy in free agency since he joined the Colts in 2017. He’s not alone among his peers, with some of the top franchises in the league showing similar restraint.
But Ballard has, at times, demonstrated the importance of targeted free agent signings for good value. He’s shown it is possible to have success in free agency without breaking the bank. The $5.6 million per season the Colts will spend on kicker Matt Gay, a 2023 signee, paid off immediately. Gay had a career-high eight field-goal conversions of 50 yards or longer.
The same can be said regarding the signing of defensive end Samson Ebukam. He registered a career-best 9.5 sacks in his first season with Indianapolis last season, giving the Colts a great return on a contract that will average $8 million per season — significantly less than a top-tier edge rusher.
Other past examples of similar signings include defensive lineman Denico Autry in 2018, defensive end Justin Houston in 2019 and cornerback Xavier Rhodes, who enjoyed a bounce-back season in his first season with the Colts in 2020 before dropping off a year later.
Now, with the Colts at a bit of a crossroads — are they going to take the next step or not? — they could clearly benefit from a few additions at key spots.
The Colts’ reluctance to delve into free agency in some recent seasons has come back to hurt them. Take last season, for example. Ballard had his reasons for holding back, as he outlined earlier.
But had the Colts, for instance, addressed their questions at cornerback through free agency, they might have been a postseason team. Even after the offseason trade of veteran Stephon Gilmore and the indefinite suspension of Isaiah Rodgers because of gambling violations, Ballard relied mostly on unproven returnees and rookies at the position. Throw in the inevitable injuries, and the results were predictably poor.
As for this year, Ballard left the door open but wasn’t about to make any commitments.
“We’ll be as aggressive as we need to be where we think we need to be,” he said.
The Colts are certainly well-positioned. Even after designating receiver Michael Pittman Jr. as a franchise player, they are on track to have nearly $50 million in available salary cap space. According to league sources, they’ve already had internal discussions about Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (who is seeking a trade and a new contract) and have mulled acquiring a free agent pass-rusher.
If history is a guide, the Colts’ moves will be moderate splashes and not big ones. Either way, sitting out free agency doesn’t seem likely or wise for a team trying to build on last season’s surprising success.
Ballard was seeking results and got them. The next step is up to him.