Tag: latest colts news

PFF ranks Colts offensive line among elite units

The Colts offensive line is back to being elite.

The Indianapolis Colts offensive line seems to have found its identity as a bullying unit once again, and Pro Football Focus placed them among the elites in their latest ranking.

Finalizing the offensive line rankings from the 2023 season, the Colts came in at No. 3 at the end of the campaign. They slotted in right behind the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions while sitting just ahead of the Atlanta Falcons.

3. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

Best lineup:
LT Bernhard Raimann
LG Quenton Nelson
C Ryan Kelly
RG Will Fries
RT Braden Smith

Injuries to center Ryan Kelly and right tackle Braden Smith weakened this unit, but when the Colts played all five of their starting offensive linemen — like in the first half against the Texans in Week 18 — it was one of the best and most improved front fives in the NFL.

The Colts’ offensive line allowed just 15 sacks all season, the third fewest in the NFL.

Best player: Bernhard Raimann
Raimann was one of the breakout players of the 2023 NFL season, ranking fifth among left tackles in PFF overall grade (82.3).

After a few seasons of mediocre to poor play from the offensive line, the unit stepped it up big time during the first season under head coach Shane Steichen and new offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr.

The latter deserves a lot of credit for turning the unit around from where they were just one year ago, and it helps that Quenton Nelson and Ryan Kelly found their forms as tone setters on the interior.

Though the starting unit only played a handful of games together due to injuries, they were stellar when they were on the field at the same time.

The breakout campaign from Bernhard Raimann proved the Colts may have a cornerstone piece at left tackle for the next handful of seasons while right tackle Braden Smith was a strong option despite an extensively injured season.

At right guard, Will Fries proved worthy of being a starting option. He may not have blown the doors off the opposition, but he certainly provided the Colts with enough value to be trusted upon at right guard.

Adding depth to the unit is the main priority considering the starting five will return in 2024 so there’s a solid chance they will be able to build upon the foundation they set in 2023.

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14 former Colts who are on UFL rosters for 2024

A handful of former Colts players are on UFL rosters for 2024.

The USFL and XFL merged this offseason to form the United Football League (UFL) for the 2024 season.

As the cycle of spring football continues to give players a chance to earn another path to the NFL, and there have been a handful of players who have succeeded in carving out a career after playing spring football.

The UFL held its disperal draft and super dispersal draft recently and there were 14 former Colts who landed on rosters for the upcoming season, which begins in March. Some players may have simply spent time on the practice squad while others were even second-round draft picks.

Here are 14 former Colts players who are on rosters for the 2024 UFL season:

Colts select TE Brock Bowers in Daniel Jeremiah’s first mock draft

In Daniel Jeremiah’s first mock draft, the Colts selected an offensive weapon.

In Daniel Jeremiah’s first mock draft of the 2024 offseason, the Indianapolis Colts added one of the most intriguing weapons throughout the entire class in the form of former Georgia tight end Brock Bowers.

Holding the No. 15 pick in the draft, the Colts have a lot of directions they can go with the selection. They can add more protection and weapons for young quarterback Anthony Richardson or add to the defensive side of the ball.

In Jeremiah’s first mock draft, they went with a value pick on an extremely talented weapon.

Bowers is going to be tricky to place in mock drafts. The talent suggests he should be a top-five pick but the debate about the positional value could push him down as far as the Colts at No. 15.

While the positional value of selecting a tight end in the middle of the first round does bring question marks, Bowers isn’t a typical tight end. He can be used more as a receiver and YAC weapon, which is exactly what the Colts could use over the middle of the field.

Bowers’ production despite being deployed mostly as a tight end has been very impressive through his three seasons at Georgia.

While there are still some high hopes that Jelani Woods can turn into a significant option for the Colts at tight end, specifically the Y role, he missed the entire 2023 season due to a nagging hamstring injury.

It’s still far too early to tell what direction the Colts will want to go in with the No. 15 overall pick, but Bowers certainly brings some intrigue.

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Report: Colts met with Memphis RB Blake Watson at Hula Bowl

The Colts reportedly met with Memphis RB Blake Watson at the Hula Bowl.

The Indianapolis Colts reportedly met with Memphis running back Blake Watson at the Hula Bowl this week, according to Ryan Fowler of The Draft Network.

With the collegiate all-star games taking place over the next month, the Colts will send scouts and representatives to watch and meet with a number of the prospects ahead of the 2024 NFL draft.

Meetings in this type of environment aren’t typically formal, and it could be something as simple as a quick conversation. Still, it’s noteworthy with draft season arriving.

Listed at 5-foot-9 and 195 pounds, Watson spent five seasons at Old Dominion (2018-2022) before transferring to Memphis in 2023. The Queens native took 192 carries for 1,152 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns while adding 53 receptions for 480 yards and three touchdowns in the passing game.

The Colts have Jonathan Taylor locked up as the starter while Zack Moss is slated to be a free agent. Second-year back Evan Hull will be returning from a torn meniscus that claimed his rookie season as well.

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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:

Colts’ special teams unit ranked middle of the pack

Colts sit middle of the pack in Rick Gosselin’s special teams rankings.

The Indianapolis Colts special teams unit underwent a slight makeover during the 2023 offseason following the departure of Bubba Ventrone and the arrival of new coordinator Brian Thomas.

As a whole, the unit had its ups and downs. There were bright moments like the two big plays on blocked punts against the Tennessee Titans. There were also some lapses. They allowed the ninth-most punt return yards (360) and the seventh-most yards per kick returns (26.1).

Rick Gosselin released his annual special teams rankings for the 2023 season, and the Colts found themselves right in the middle of the pack at No. 16 overall.

There is always an adjustment period when a new coordinator takes over, regardless of whether it comes on offense, defense or special teams. Losing Ventrone was going to make life a bit difficult on the unit, especially considering how well they ranked throughout his tenure with the Colts.

There were some injuries that played a factor as well. Losing Ashton Dulin, one of the best gunners in the NFL, due to a torn ACL was a huge blow. Then, the team lost cornerback and return man Dallis Flowers to a torn Achilles a year after he led the NFL in yards per return. Both players were regarded as two of the best special teamers on the entire roster.

Meanwhile, punter Rigoberto Sanchez was working his way back from a torn Achilles that claimed his entire 2022 season.

On punt returns, Isaiah McKenzie spent the majority of the season as the return man. He was pretty inefficient, though, averaging 8.9 yards per return on 23 returns. The team as a whole only return nine total kicks during the season thanks to the new kickoff rules.

Barring a surprising move, Mason will be back for his second season as the special teams coordinator in 2024, and it will be interesting to see if the return of both Dulin and Flowers can get this unit back to where it was before.

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Colts’ 5 most disappointing players in 2023

Taking a look at the five most disappointing Colts players from 2023.

Despite the Indianapolis Colts missing out on a playoff run, there were plenty of high marks from the 2023 season. Conversely, the Colts also had their share of disappointing players from the campaign.

Between injuries and poor performance, there were a handful of Colts players who failed to meet expectations during the 2023 season. Some will likely have a chance to bounce back in 2024, but the outlook may not be as encouraging as it once was.

We took a look at the players who exceeded expectations. Now, here are five Colts players who disappointed the most in 2023:

Report: Colts’ Jim Irsay was found ‘unresponsive’ in home last month

A report emerged detailing emergency responders found Jim Irsay unresponsive in his home last month.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay continues to be on the mend from what the team said is a severe respiratory illness, but a police report has emerged from December detailing what was logged as a suspected overdose.

According to records obtained by TMZ and FOX59/CBS4’s Max Lewis, police responded to Irsay’s home around 4:30 a.m. ET on Dec. 8 after someone found him in the bathroom, unresponsive and struggling to breathe.

From Lewis:

A supplemental report said Carmel police were called to “assist fire with a male that was unresponsive, breathing, but turning blue.” That male, the report indicated, was 64-year-old Irsay.

The narrative said someone found Irsay had fallen in the bathroom; he was moved to a bed and was unresponsive. Irsay struggled to breathe, the report said.

“Irsay was unconscious with abnormal breathing (agonal breathing), a weak pulse, and he was cold to the touch,” the responding officer wrote in the report.

One of the officers attempted to wake Irsay with a sternum rub, a type of pain stimulus, but he continued to be unresponsive. An officer gave him naloxone (Narcan) before medics arrived; he had a slight response to that, the report said. Naloxone is used to combat overdoses from opiates.

Irsay has made public appearances since this reported incident. He was seen at the home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 16 and was scheduled to appear with his band in Los Angeles.

However, the team announced a week ago that Irsay was being treated for a severe respiratory illness. The team provided another statement after the police report was made public Wednesday.

Mr. Irsay continues to recover from his respiratory illness. We will have no further comment on his personal health, and we continue to ask that Jim and his family’s privacy be respected.

It isn’t clear if these two incidents are related, but we will keep you up to date on the latest developments regarding the health of the Colts’ owner.

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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’ Michael Pittman Jr. wants to do due diligence with next contract

Michael Pittman Jr. may want to test the free-agent waters, but it’s unlikely the Colts allow it to get to that point.

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. is coming off his best season since entering the league, proving to be a vital cog in Shane Steichen’s offense. Now, it’s time to get paid.

Having completed the final year of his rookie contract, Pittman is going to see an incredible uptick in salary regardless of how the offseason shakes out. The odds state that Pittman will be wearing the horseshoe when it’s all said and done, but that doesn’t mean he’s automatically returning.

The former second-round pick told reporters after the Colts’ season ended that he wants to see what kind of offers he can get for his next contract.

“As of right now until March whatever, I’m still a Colt,” Pittman said last week. “But speaking to the contract stuff, I made it this far so – I’ve loved my four years here, but I wouldn’t be doing my due diligence if I didn’t explore every option and find the best fit.”

In theory, that’s all fine and good. In reality, players with Pittman’s talent, production and value don’t hit the market. This is especially true at the wide receiver position, which is increasing in value every offseason.

Pittman may want to see what the free agent market has to offer, but unless both sides are wildly far apart during contract negotiations over the next month, he likely won’t even get the chance to test the waters.

First, the Colts have enough salary cap space to give Pittman a market-level deal north of $20 million annually. Having quarterback Anthony Richardson on a rookie contract gives them that type of flexibility.

Second, the Colts have the franchise tag in their back pocket. Even if they’d prefer to get him under contract, they can use that tool to extend the negotiations until the middle of July if they decide to apply the franchise tag before the new league year arrives March 13.

Depending on what type of tag the Colts apply to Pittman in this hypothetical scenario, it could bar other teams from even approaching him with a contract offer. That’s if they use the exclusive franchise tag.

Third, there’s truly no reason a deal shouldn’t get done. The Colts value Pittman, and he’s been one of the most productive wide receivers in franchise history to begin a career.

General manager Chris Ballard had no issues telling the media how he feels about Pittman.

“I care deeply about him. We have a really good relationship. It’s an honest one – almost too honest I think sometimes. But that’s what I love about him. The guy is competitive. He’s tough. He cares. He wants to win. We’re going to work to get him back. We’ll work through that. I know we’re going to have a few free agents you’re all going to want to talk about, and I’m probably going to give you the same answer. I would like to have them all back, but it doesn’t work that way. It’s just the nature of what we do. Pitt is a good football player for us, and hopefully he still remains a Colt.”

The Colts are the only team that can negotiate with Pittman until the legal tampering period opens March 11, so there’s plenty of time for a deal to get done.

We’ll keep you updated on the latest news regarding those contract talks between the Colts and their star wide receiver.