Tag: Julian Blackmon

On Tuesday, the Colts made the re-signing of safety Julian Blackmon official. Over the Cap (OTC) now has those contract details.

According to OTC, Blackmon’s one-year deal is worth up to $3.7 million, with $3.19 million of it guaranteed.

Of that $3.19 million figure, $1.865 million will come in the form of a signing bonus, with $1.325 million of it as Blackmon’s base salary. He has the opportunity to earn up to $510,000 in per-game bonuses, with another $250,000 being classified by OTC as “other bonus.”

For the Colts, Blackmon’s deal for the 2024 season will count as $3.89 million towards the salary cap.

With this move now accounted for, the Colts are now projected to have $14.01 million in available cap space. This currently ranks 17th in the NFL.

In terms of effective salary cap space, which takes into account the Colts needing cap room to sign the incoming draft class, they have $9.81 million available, which also ranks 17th.

In addition to needing available cap space to sign their 2024 draft class, the Colts – and every other NFL team – will need available funds to assemble the practice squad, as well as reserves for in-season spending, so they can make any additions and account for gameday elevations from the practice squad.

With free agency at a standstill, the Colts are likely done making any signings for the time being. If GM Chris Ballard still believes there is a hole on the roster that needs to be addressed following the draft, perhaps at that time he will look to sign a veteran, but no contract at that point is going to break the bank by any means.

The return of Blackmon provides some needed stability at safety, but it still remains a need for the Colts–especially with Blackmon only back on a one-year deal. If the Colts don’t add talent to this position in the draft, they could face a similar situation next offseason, once again trying to tackle this need on the fly.

As the roster is currently constructed, Blackmon will resume his role as the strong safety, with Rodney Thomas II and Nick Cross competing for the starting free safety role–a position that could be upgraded, although this is not a very strong draft class at safety.

The Indianapolis Colts have re-signed safety Julian Blackmon, according to Jordan Schultz.

It was just last week that GM Chris Ballard menetioned that the two parties had restarted conversations.

Blackmon is coming off a career season in 2023, in which he came away with four interceptions, two pass breakups and held opponents to just 11.8 yards per catch.

Blackmon has also proven to be a reliable tackler, missing fewer than eight percent of his tackle attempts over the last two seasons and ranked among the best at the safety position in 2023 in PFF’s run-stop rate metric.

The safety position remained one of the Colts’ biggest needs. Presumably, it was going to be Nick Cross and Rodney Thomas competing during training camp for the starting free safety role but the strong safety job was up in the air.

That is now a specific role, often tasked with playing closer to the line of scrimmage, that Blackmon can again fill. He played a career high 468 snaps this past season in the box.

This re-signing gives the Colts added flexibility going into the draft. Prior to this move, drafting a safety somewhat early felt like a near must, even though this isn’t a very strong draft class. Now, Ballard can more so let the board come to him and shouldn’t feel like he has to reach.

According to Ian Rapoport, this is a one-year deal. The contract specifics have not yet been reported.

Pro Football Focus recently assigned “best landing spots” for their top 20 available free agents. Checking in at No. 8 on the list was safety Julian Blackmon, however, instead of the Colts being named as the ideal landing spot for him, PFF picked the New York Giants.

The Giants are a natural pick for Blackmon after they lost Xavier McKinney this offseason to the Green Bay Packers.

Blackmon has played all over the defensive backfield, including as a free safety, in the box, and in the slot. In 2023, he would play a career-high 468 snaps down in the box.

Blackmon has proven to be a sound tackler, missing fewer than eight percent of his 132 tackle attempts over the last two seasons. This has then translated over to making an impact in the run game, where he ranked fifth this past season in run stop rate among all safeties.

The 2023 season was also a career year for Blackmon in coverage. He held opponents to under 12 yards per catch and came away with four interceptions and two pass breakups.

Although PFF picked the Giants as the best landing spot for Blackmon, a reunion with the Colts makes an immense amount of sense. Recently GM Chris Ballard mentioned that the two parties have restarted conversations.

Without Blackmon, the Colts have a big hole at the safety position. Right now, presumably, Nick Cross and Rodney Thomas will compete for the starting free safety role, but the strong safety spot, who typically plays closer to the line of scrimmage, is up for grabs and is a role Blackmon could fill.

On top of all of that, Blackmon, of course, knows the defensive scheme well, having played in it.

Before free agency began, PFF projected that Blackmon would land a two-year deal worth $5.75 million per year, with $6 million in total guaranteed.

With Blackmon still unsigned, it’s not as if he hasn’t drawn interest from teams, but there’s clearly been a discrepancy between what teams were willing to offer and what he’s been willing to sign for.

At this stage of the game it’s difficult to know if PFF’s original contract projection remains in the ballpark or if the contract value has decreased given that the free agent market has settled.

From the Colt’s salary cap perspective, they rank 13th currently in effective cap space and likely have the means available to re-sign Blackmon.

With this being a so-so draft class at the safety position, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Ballard to try to address the need in free agency, so that he no longer feels like he has to do so right away in the draft–especially since there aren’t many immediate impact options available.