Hey there Colts’ fans! With free agency opening in earnest a few weeks ago and the draft still a month away, this month’s report will be entirely devoted to the free agency gains and losses for the boys in blue. The Colts have generally been a rare participant in free agency over much of the last few decades, and current GM Chris Ballard has definitely shied away from big signings while preferring the "home-grown" approach of drafting his roster. But he shook things up a bit this offseason by engaging in far more signings from other rosters than he has of re-signing his own thus far.

LOSSES – The Colts have essentially lost five starters or key contributors from last year’s underachieving squad, and in most cases I agree with the decision not to match most of the offers. The offensive line will take a bit of a smack with long-time starter and many-time ProBowler OC Ryan Kelly signing a 2-year, $18 million deal with the Vikings. Likewise, the guy that started to his immediate right a lot is OG Will Fries, who will join him in Minnesota with a stunning 5-year, $88 million deal. Letting Kelly go was the right move; while still a dominant run-blocker and a very solid pass protector, he has struggled with injuries a lot in recent years and is on the wrong side of 30. His young replacements in recent years have performed similarly, so he may have been the most expendable of the big-name losses. Fries, however, was a real need for this team…but the Colts simply could not invest that kind of money on a guard without ProBowl upside. Fries is a solid pro’s pro, but not off-the-charts talented or with untapped upside. Since he is coming off a broken leg, I was hoping that would minimize his cost but Minnesota threw a crazy number at him. The only other offensive loss was nominal starter TE Kylen Granson who signed an undisclosed 1-year deal with the Eagles to be part of a committee there like he was here. The Colts have a lot of equivalent bodies at tight end, and are rumored to be targeting superstar Tyler Warren in the draft, so not batting an eye over this signing seemed smart at any price.

They have lost a few defensive players of note, starting with edge DE Dayo Odeyingbo who signed with the Bears for $48 million with $32 million guaranteed. Odeyingbo was the leader in pressures and hits, as well as in defensive snaps played, but with all the draft capital tied up in a variety of edge players, they could not afford this number for a guy with freakish talent and durability, but average production as far as sack totals. I think this is a loss, but not at the price they would have had to pay. LB Grant Stuard signed a 1-year deal with the Lions, and his loss will be felt on special teams especially. He has played well in a backup role as a linebacker, but his leadership and durability and skills on the coverage units will be felt deeply. The Lions got a winner of a player, and a classic Dan Campbell guy.

STILL UNSIGNED – Two big names from the defense are still unsigned, and I think this bodes well for them returning; I feared each would get crazy numbers offered to them elsewhere. S Julian Blackmon is a tackling machine and a playmaker at safety, and is well-liked in the locker room. Even with the signing of Bynum, I think they will want to keep him here as well or else the move will not be as splashy as it seemed. My guess is that his slightly checkered injury history has been a deterrent to this point. Speaking of tackling machines, LB EJ Speed was among the league’s leaders again last year and surprisingly, no one has broken the bank to sign him yet. Losing Speed (as well as his backup Stuard) would be a huge blow for a team looking to revamp their defense in 2025. Having turned 30 may be the reason teams are unwilling to shell out big money for Speed, but he would be a great fit to return here in 2025. If they lose these two as well as their other losses listed above, I think the defense will take a step back even with the great signings already made.

RE-SIGNED THEIR OWN – The Colts restructured the final deal of OT Braden Smith’s deal to reduce his cap hit in 2025 to a little over $10 million instead of the $21 million it would have been. He has struggled with injury for several seasons, but his play has been great when healthy. This was a must-do with the other losses up front. They also re-signed OG Danny Pinter to a 1-year deal for a relatively cheap $1.5 million. Pinter will likely step in as the replacement for Fries, as well as serving as a solid backup at center for second year guy OC Tanor Bortolini. Good signing. Finally, they resigned depth for their secondary in DB David Long to a low-cost deal.

FREE AGENTS – The Colts have already signed 7 free agents, and several are among the splashier moves in the NFL. The big names are CB Charvarius Ward and S Cam Bynum. Ward was given a $20 million signing bonus – very atypical for Ballard. He had a down year while dealing with a ton of personal trauma off the field, but was an All-Pro in 2023 and should regain that form. He is in his prime and is a true shut-down #1 corner. Bynum also got $18 million to sign, and he will bring stability, durability and a veteran presence to a secondary that sorely lacked all three last season. They also added 6-year veteran CB Corey Ballantine from the Packers on a modest deal. He will provide experience and stability as the 4^th corner, but no real upside. They did add a player up front as well, signing interior lineman DT Neville Gallimore from the Rams. Their two starters are solid but have a lot of mileage, and Gallimore can provide a run-stuffing presence but little pass rushing prowess. He replaces veteran DT Raekwon Davis, who was released, but this seems like a somewhat lateral move with a slightly younger option.

On offense, the team needed to find a backup to Jonathan Taylor, and they signed former Bear and Bengal RB Khalil Herbert. Herbert is an accomplished 3^rd down back and has performed admirably in small doses as a workhorse starter for the Bears. He provides a stable and proven commodity in case Taylor goes down, but I do think the team will still invest a draft pick in another runner this April. They signed former Colt PK Spencer Shrader to a 2-year deal, which has raised eyebrows after making PK Matt Gay the highest paid kicker in the league. Shrader was solid in three stops (including week 1 for Indianapolis) as a rookie last season, and may be nothing more than a camp leg and some cheap insurance, but Ballard could save over $4 million a year if he truly were to replace Gay. Things to think about. But of course, the one signing that made the biggest news was the signing of QB Daniel Jones to a 1-year $14 million deal. While that is not starter money, it is not chump change either, and Ballard has openly said there will be competition for the starting gig. This kind of seems like a contract for a veteran "bridge quarterback," which means the Colts think their future is neither Danny Dimes or AR5. I am not sure what to make of this thus far, except that their rushing skills make either of them a worthy bench stash in early fantasy drafts. Richardson as a top 5 PPG fantasy guy might be coming off the board around #25 among passers as a result of this signing. Training camp is gonna be veeeery interesting.

That is all for this month from the Crossroads of America. I will be back in April to preview the 2025 draft from the Colts’ perspective. Until then….have a safe spring break if you are traveling!

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