Tag: Grover Stewart

1 pending free agent the Colts could target from each AFC team

Taking a look at one pending free agent for the Colts from each AFC team.

With free agency right around the corner, the Indianapolis Colts have the chance to make some key additions to a roster that already has some promise.

Working with some of the most salary-cap space in the NFL this offseason, general manager Chris Ballard and the front office can continue to add pieces to the defensive side of the ball while improving the supporting cast for quarterback Anthony Richardson.

Re-signing some of their own players like Michael Pittman Jr., Grover Stewart and Kenny Moore II will be key. But they also could look around the conference to bring in some outside talent.

We know Ballard isn’t one to make huge splashes in free agency, but they are still going to be an active team even if it means simply adding depth.

After taking a look at potential NFC targets, here’s a look at one pending free agent from each AFC team that should interest the Colts:

Predicting the fate of every Colts’ pending free agent in 2024

Predicting which Colts’ free agents stay and go in 2024.

The Indianapolis Colts are just over a week away from the start of free agency, and there are some big decisions to make when it comes to the players set to hit the market.

Expected to have roughly 14 unrestricted free agents set to hit the market this offseason, the Colts won’t be able to bring all of them back. In fact, it’s likely that most of them find a new home in 2024.

The team’s current standing with the salary cap is among the strongest the NFL.

We took a look at the players the Colts should let walk into free agency and the players who should be re-signed this offseason.

Now, it’s time to predict the fate of every pending free agent for the Colts in 2024.

How the Colts are impacted by NFL’s $255.4M salary cap

How the increased salary cap impacts the Colts in 2024.

The NFL announced the salary cap for the 2024 season, increasing an unprecedented $30 million from the previous campaign up to $255.4 million. How will the Indianapolis Colts be impacted?

With this new figure, the Colts now sit at $72.3 million in salary-cap space (sixth-most) and $68.1 million in effective salary-cap space (fifth-most), according to Over The Cap.

The Colts already knew they were entering into the 2024 offseason among the leaders in salary-cap space. However, the figure the league announced Friday is roughly $10 million more than most teams expected to be working with this offseason.

The extra flexibility might be enough to help the Colts sign multiple contract extensions with some big names like Michael Pittman Jr., Kenny Moore II and Grover Stewart—all of which are slated to be unrestricted free agents in March.

The biggest name is Pittman, who is the catalyst for the offense. A contract extension for the team’s WR1 is expected to be above $20 million annually, and the franchise tag numbers are now official with the announcement of the salary cap.

If the Colts wanted to use the non-exclusive franchise tag on Pittman, it would cost them $21.8 million.

It will be interesting to see how this will shake out for the Colts, but the higher salary-cap number should work in their favor to get deals done with their big-name free agents.

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Ranking Colts’ pending free agents by importance

Ranking the Colts’ most important pending free agents.

The Indianapolis Colts have 14 players set to be unrestricted free agents this offseason with a number of players from that list who were major contributors for the team in 2023.

The Colts, despite having the fifth most cap space in the NFL (roughly $58.9 million) according to Over The Cap, will have to make some potentially tough decisions in regard to how they allocate those funds this offseason

Here, we are ranking these 14 players by their importance to retain for general manager Chris Ballard and Indianapolis in 2024.

 

Ranking 2024’s top 12 free-agent interior defensive linemen

Free agency’s top interior defensive linemen

The Carolina Panthers have themselves one of the very best defensive tackles in the game. In fact, they have the one who just set an single-season tackle record for the position.

But if they’re looking to add to their front, let’s keep you in the know about the very best free-agent interior defensive linemen.

5 one-tech DTs the Colts should target in 2024 NFL draft

Searching for depth at the 1-Tech for the Colts in the draft.

Until the Indianapolis Colts go through free agency, there isn’t a clear position that Chris Ballard needs to target in the upcoming NFL draft.

Free agency should help clear up some question marks surrounding the roster and one area on the defense that can end up becoming a big need is the one-technique defensive tackle position—if the team doesn’t re-sign Grover Stewart.

I am in the camp that Stewart has to be brought back in 2024 but even with him on the roster, Ballard should keep one-tech defensive tackles on his radar in the draft.

Stewart will be turning 31 during the upcoming NFL season so he doesn’t have much tread on his tires left. If Ballard re-signs him, then it will likely come on a 2-3 year deal so the future of his spot has to be kept in mind this offseason.

While Stewart has been very durable in his career, his six-game suspension in 2023 showed that the defense looks drastically different when he isn’t in the lineup. There needs to be quality depth beyond him if he were to miss time for any reason in 2024.

Here are five defensive tackle prospects that Ballard can target for the one-tech role in the draft:

Colts’ Grover Stewart, Kenny Moore II among underrated 2024 free agents

Kenny Moore and Grover Stewart featured among underrated free agents.

The Indianapolis Colts have less than a month before the new league year arrives and the free-agent market officially opens.

While there is still plenty of time to get deals done with their pending free agents, two of them made Pro Football Focus’ list of underrated defensive players set to hit the market.

First on the list was defensive tackle Grover Stewart.

Stewart is somewhat one-dimensional, with just one season of earning a 65.0-plus PFF pass-rush grade in his career. He stands out in run defense, though, finishing 2023 with the fifth-best PFF run-defense grade at the position. He has yet to earn a sub-65.0 run-defense grade in a season.

Stewart is known mostly for his run-stopping abilities. He’s an elite defender in that arena, but he’s also coming along as a pass rusher. Though he’s 30 years old, the prime for defensive tackles is a bit later in their careers compared to other positions.

The Colts got a glimpse of what life is like without Stewart redirecting traffic against the run when he was suspended for six games during the 2023 season. It was abysmal watching the Colts get shredded via the ground attack. The suspension may have helped his stock in terms of getting a new contract.

Moore was the other Colts player featured on the list of underrated defensive players set to become free agents.

Now 30 years old, Moore is coming off a career year in which he earned a 77.4 PFF grade that ranked 18th among cornerbacks. Primarily a slot cornerback, he allowed a catch on 79.4% of the passes into his primary coverage, but for an average of just 9.3 yards, in 2023.

Moore’s bounce-back season has been well documented. He was playing at a near Pro Bowl level as a slot defender for the majority of the campaign. Even though there is promise and upside with the young cornerbacks in Julius Brents and Jaylon Jones, it’s Moore who is the glue guy in the secondary.

We’ll see what happens with both Stewart and Moore as the legal tampering period draws near, but they both would likely have strong markets if they were to hit free agency.

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8 pending free agents the Colts should re-sign

The Colts should try to retain these 8 pending free agents.

The Indianapolis Colts have plenty of decisions to make with the 2024 offseason officially arriving, and that includes what to do with the crop of players set to hit free agency.

Working with roughly $58.9 million in salary-cap space, according to Over The Cap, the Colts will have enough money to re-sign a number of pending free agents before they hit the market in the middle of March.

Here’s a look at eight pending free agents the Colts should look to re-sign this offseason:

5 toughest decisions for Colts GM Chris Ballard this offseason

Plenty of tough decisions await Colts GM Chris Ballard this offseason.

What a difference a year has made for Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard.

He went from having to find a new head coach and selecting a franchise quarterback to having to put together a roster that can go on a deep playoff run next season.

Ballard’s key decisions this offseason come mostly on players that were on the roster in 2023.

Here are the five toughest he has to decide on in the coming months:

10 questions the Colts face entering 2024 offseason

Checking out the biggest questions the Colts face in 2024.

The Indianapolis Colts have a vital offseason ahead of them with the chance to build off an impressive 2023 campaign that ended in heartbreak but one that provided hope, nonetheless.

As we gear up for the 2024 offseason, the Colts will have plenty of ammo to make some big moves in both free agency and the NFL draft. What happens is anyone’s guess, and there will be major questions facing the organization this offseason.

Some of them will be answered over the course of the offseason. Others may not be answered until we get into the regular season.

Either way, here are 10 questions the Colts face entering the 2024 offseason: