Tag: Grover Stewart

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:

5 Colts’ free agents make PFF’s top 100 list for 2024

A quintet of Colts made PFF’s top 100 free agents list for 2024.

The Indianapolis Colts have an interesting offseason coming up starting with a group of players set to hit free agency when the 2024 new league year arrives in March.

Over at Pro Football Focus, a list of the top 100 free agents was put together by Brad Spielgerger and five Colts players wound up making the cut.

The five names won’t come as a shock as they are the five names most talked about in regard to the Colts’ upcoming free-agent class.

Here’s a look at the five Colts players who made the list, along with what Spielberger said and his projected contract:

8 Colts who could receive contract extensions this offseason

Taking a look at eight Colts who could receive contract extensions this offseason.

Ever since Chris Ballard took over as general manager of the Indianapolis Colts, they have been a team not afraid to hand out contract extensions to players they feel have earned it.

This is a big offseason for a Colts organization that is looking to build a playoff contender after narrowly missing out on the postseason. Re-signing some pending free agents to new deals and handing out some contract extensions to players currently under contract will be two ways of doing so.

We’re taking two schools of thought here as it pertains to contract extensions. The first includes pending free agents we believe could earn a multi-year deal before the new league year arrives in March.

The other includes players going into the final year of their current contract. We’ve seen Ballard hand out extensions in the past when players have one year remaining on current deals before that final season arrives. In theory, these deals would likely get done during the summer after free agency and the 2024 NFL draft have already passed.

Admittedly, we’re casting a pretty wide net here. Not all of the players below will receive a new deal this offseason. In fact, the majority of them probably won’t. But if there’s a slight chance they might, we’re going to make the argument as to why it could happen.

Here are eight Colts currently under contract who could receive a contract extension during the 2024 offseason:

Colts’ top needs entering 2024 offseason

Taking a look at the top needs for the Colts entering the 2024 offseason.

With the 2023 season officially over for the Indianapolis Colts, they are officially in offseason mode.

As 2024 begins, Indianapolis will look to add to its roster and strengthen some perceived weaknesses through free agency, trades and the NFL draft.

With that being said, here are some of the top needs for Indianapolis moving forward:

Colts’ players set to be free agents in 2024

These Colts will be unrestricted free agents in 2024.

The Indianapolis Colts wrapped up the 2023 regular season with a disappointing loss at home and now it’s time to look toward the 2024 offseason.

According to Over the Cap, the Colts are expected to have around $71.2 million in salary-cap space (fifth most) and $61.4 million in effective salary-cap space (third most) entering the 2024 offseason.

There are a number of players who have earned new contracts under the current coaching staff, which just concluded its first season. The front office also will likely restructure some contracts, and cut or trade some players, to free up some space even though it’s not as much of a priority this offseason.

But before we get into all of that, here are the Colts who are set to be unrestricted free agents in 2024:

Studs and duds from Colts’ 30-13 win vs. Steelers

Taking a look at the studs and duds from the Colts’ 30-13 win over the Steelers.

The Indianapolis Colts (8-6) continued their playoff push with a 30-13 win at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-7) on Saturday.

It wasn’t pretty in the first half, especially as the Colts were down 13-0 early on after a missed field goal, a touchdown drive allowed and then a blocked punt that led to another Pittsburgh touchdown.

But the Colts were able to prevail thanks to some big plays by the passing offense after Gardner Minshew gave Indianapolis their first lead as they took a 14-13 halftime lead.

From there, the Colts outscored Pittsburgh 16-0 in the second half as they cruised to a convincing 30-13 victory.

Here’s a look at the studs and duds from the Week 15 win:

Stock up, stock down from Colts’ 34-14 loss to Bengals

Taking stock from the Colts’ loss in Week 14 against the Bengals.

The Indianapolis Colts (7-6) were defeated 34-14 on Sunday by the Cincinnati Bengals (7-6) at Paycor Stadium.

In what was easily the worst game they’ve played all season, the Colts simply didn’t have it. They were outmatched in all three phases of the game, and their inability to limit the self-inflicting wounds buried any chances of pulling off a comeback.

Now, it’s time to take a look at whose stock was impacted from the team’s largest loss of the season.

When taking stock of a player’s performance, it’s best to be fluid. A player’s stock will fall and rise throughout the season so none of this is set in stone. However, it is important to take note of the narratives and storylines taking place as the campaign progresses.

A player’s stock can be impacted by factors such as their performance or the type of snaps they receive during the games.

Here’s a look at the stock report for the Colts following the Week 14 loss: