Those who have been following the Indianapolis Colts for the last few seasons have come to expect that the front office isn’t going to be extremely active during free agency.
That isn’t to say they won’t spend money, but general manager Chris Ballard has made it clear they will do the majority of roster additions through the NFL draft. Even with a large crop of talented free agents, the Colts might not be a team that spends up when the new league year begins March 18.
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But that isn’t stopping Pro Football Focus from predicting a big offseason for Indy, who were predicted to sign two big free agents in the form of quarterback Philip Rivers and defensive tackle Chris Jones.
4. QB PHILIP RIVERS – INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Projected contract: 2 years, $29 million per year ($34 million guaranteed)
Jacoby Brissett produced just a 59.3 PFF grade in 2019 that ranked 29th of 32 quarterbacks — a mark that was actually worse than his 62.4 PFF grade in 2017 when he had to step in for an injured Andrew Luck. The short-lived Brissett era that featured a few weeks of MVP talk from other national media outlets (you know who you are) is over. There have been rumors about a potential reunion in Indianapolis between Philip Rivers and Frank Reich, who was his quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in San Diego from 2015-17. For anyone who thinks this is a bad idea, it’s really not. Brissett was a poor deep passer, and while Rivers has taken a step back in this category, the overall accuracy between the two is night and day. Looking at passes that were beyond the line of scrimmage, Brissett ranked second to last in uncatchable pass rate while Rivers ranked in the top 10.
Rivers and the Colts are a good fit for each other. He has a history working with Frank Reich, who has been on-record about how much he likes Rivers. The Colts also need a quarterback. But spending $29 million annually just doesn’t seem like a move Ballard would make.
On the other side of the ball, Jones would be the three-technique the Colts need. He isn’t projected to be cheap either.
7. DI CHRIS JONES – INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Projected contract: 4 years, $18 million per year ($52 million guaranteed)
With just $13.7 million in cap space and Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes still needing an extension, the Chiefs have to be careful with who they sign this offseason to sustain long-term success. Chris Jones is one of the best 3-techniques in the entire NFL. If it weren’t for Aaron Donald‘s dominance, Jones would own the highest pass-rush grade at 3-tech over the past four years. As our own Eric Eager broke down earlier this week, a likely scenario for the Chiefs is to apply the franchise tag to Jones and trade him for draft compensation. Indianapolis is a candidate for this type of deal, as they own two second-round picks and are desperate for pass-rush help, particularly on the interior where they ranked 29th of 32 teams in pressure rate generated.
Jones is a favorite among Colts fans in free agency. Whether Ballard is willing to pay top dollar isn’t yet clear, but Jones would be a massive upgrade over who is working on the interior now.
Predicting that the Colts will spend like this in free agency is a bold move. Ballard hasn’t spent like this since taking over the front office.
Even so, this would be a big offseason for the Colts if it started out like this.
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