Tag: T.Y. Hilton

Colts keeping door open for a T.Y. Hilton return

The Colts aren’t shutting the door on a possible return for T.Y. Hilton.

The Indianapolis Colts may be bullish on their wide receiver room, but adding some stability could be necessary in order to maximize Matt Ryan’s time with the team.

One option the Colts still have in their back pocket would be a reunion with veteran T.Y. Hilton, who remains on the free-agent market with less than a week to go until the start of the 2022 NFL draft.

While general manager Chris Ballard didn’t go into specifics Friday during his pre-draft press conference, he did mention there is an ongoing discussion between both sides.

“We’ll still have some talks with T.Y. (Hilton). I think you all know my feelings towards T.Y. Hilton. I think he can still play. I think he can still play productive football,” Ballard told the media Friday.

There was hope that Hilton’s game would return to form in 2021 with Carson Wentz. However, injuries played a major role in the former third-round pick taking a backseat in the passing game.

Hilton suffered a neck injury during the preseason that forced him to undergo surgery and miss the first five weeks of the season. All the while, it was such a serious injury that Hilton contemplated retirement.

When he returned in Week 6, Hilton led the team in receiving against the Houston Texans (shocker) but wound up suffering a quad injury in the fourth quarter. Then he sustained a concussion in Week 8 against the Tennessee Titans.

Ballard said the two sides have had back-and-forth conversations this offseason so it’s not something they are dismissing out of hand.

“I think it’s a lot of we just got to sit down – we’ve had some back and forth. I texted back and forth with him this week as a matter of fact, and we’ll continue to have some discussions. I won’t get in depth with it,” Ballard said.

The Colts will be going into the draft weekend looking to add to their wide receiver room but don’t count out a reunion with the Ghost just yet.

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Matt Ryan traded to the Colts

The Atlanta Falcons part ways with Matt Ryan as the HC Arthur Smith’s rebuild begins with a teardown.

The Colts acquired Matt Ryan from the Atlanta Falcons for a 2022 third-round pick. The 36-year old Ryan played 14 years for the Falcons after being the 1.03 pick of the 2008 NFL draft. The former NFL MVP leaves an Atlanta franchise in the start of a rebuilding year under new head coach Arthur Smith and goes to a more mature offense in the fifth season under Indy’s head coach Frank Reich.

Matt Ryan Career Stats

YEAR GMS RUN RYD RTD PASS COMP PYD PTD FUM INT PTS RANK
2021 17 40 82 1 560 375 3968 20 11 12 292.6 17
2020 16 29 92 2 626 407 4581 26 6 11 354.25 12
2019 15 34 148 1 616 408 4466 26 9 14 348.1 6
2018 16 33 125 3 608 422 4924 35 5 7 416.7 3
2017 16 32 143 0 529 342 4095 20 3 12 299.05 14
2016 16 35 117 0 534 373 4944 38 2 7 410.9 3
2015 16 37 63 0 614 407 4591 21 5 16 319.85 16
2014 16 29 145 0 628 415 4694 28 2 14 361.2 7
2013 16 17 55 0 651 439 4515 26 4 17 335.25 9
2012 16 33 138 1 615 422 4719 32 2 14 383.75 5
2011 16 37 84 2 565 347 4177 29 3 12 345.25 8
2010 16 46 122 0 571 357 3705 28 3 9 309.45 9
2009 14 30 49 1 451 263 2916 22 2 14 244.7 19
2008 16 55 104 1 434 265 3440 16 1 11 252.4 16

The Falcons still have second-year tight end Kyle Pitts, but are left with no quarterback, a middling backfield at best, a soft offensive line and Olamide Zaccheaus as their top wideout. That’s a rebuilding season that is starting from scratch.

The Colts benefit with the addition of Ryan who spent most of his career as a Top-10 quarterback and dipped lower in recent years only because of a lack of receivers or a supporting ground game. That’s nothing like what Ryan finds in Indianapolis where they enjoy an elite offensive line and the NFL’s current rusher leader in Jonathan Taylor. That alone immediately upgrades Ryan’s outlook for 2022.

The Colts’ depth chart is topped with Michael Pittman Jr., Zach Pascal, and T.Y. Hilton though free-agent moves and rookie additions are expected to happen.  Hilton is no lock to play this year and Pascal is a free-agent pending being resigned. Parris Campbell is a fourth-year speedster that has yet to translate into a starter. There is plenty of room for improvement from the receiving crew, and at least they’ll have a quarterback to help maximize the crew that starts the season.

19 former Colts officially hit free agency

These former Colts are now officially on the free agent market.

The new league year arrived on Wednesday and that means 19 former Indianapolis Colts officially became free agents.

While there is a chance the Colts re-sign some of the players that are now on the market, they will be free to test what other teams are offering without Indy being able to do much about it.

The Colts have made some moves in regards to re-signing some of their players. The following players were re-signed before the start of the new league year:

We are tracking all of the moves the Colts are making with free agency officially here. These are the 18 players officially on the market as of Wednesday:

Colts WR T.Y. Hilton leaning toward return in 2022

Colts WR T.Y. Hilton appears to be leaning toward a return to the NFL in 2022.

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton may not know where he will be playing in 2022, but it appears he’s leaning toward furthering his career.

Though an official decision hasn’t been made yet, general manager Chris Ballard said Tuesday that Hilton signaled he wanted to return to playing rather than retiring when the two spoke a few weeks ago.

“I had a good talk with T.Y. after the season. As of a couple weeks ago, yes he wanted to play again. We will talk again,” Ballard said at the NFL combine. “T.Y. can still play. I want to make that – unfortunately he got hurt for half the season, but T.Y. can still play.”

Hilton was supposed to be a big part of the offense in 2021 with new quarterback Carson Wentz. However, a nerve injury in his neck kept him from the field for the first five weeks of the season.

After returning in Week 6 against the Houston Texans, Hilton suffered a quad injury while catching a pass in the fourth quarter. He also suffered a concussion in Week 8 against the Tennessee Titans.

Suffice it to say, Hilton’s 2021 season was littered with injuries. After contemplating retirement, Hilton is set to be a free agent on March 16.

Whether he will return to the Colts for another season remains to be seen. The Colts need all the help they can get in the wide receiver room despite Chris Ballard’s love for the players currently making up the group.

Hilton posted 23 receptions for 331 yards and three touchdowns. His 14.1 yards per reception mark suggests he can still be a viable option in the passing game even if his role is reduced to being more of a complementary receiver.

The Colts are still waiting on the decision of tight end Jack Doyle, who is also considering retirement. That decision may sway Hilton one way or another.

We’ll see what happens with Hilton’s return and whether the Colts bring him back for another go-round. But it appears, for now, the Ghost is gearing up for another season.

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6 Colts listed among PFF’s top 200 pending free agents

The Colts had six players listed among Pro Football Focus’ top-200 pending free agents for 2022.

In less than a month, NFL free agency will be open for teams to sign new players and the Indianapolis Colts have several names set to hit the market.

Some of the names on the list of pending free agents for the Colts may be re-signed before the market even opens on March 14—the legal tampering period. Others will be free to negotiate with teams as the Colts let them walk.

Pro Football Focus ranked the top 200 pending free agents set to hit the market along with what they project their next contract to be. There were six Colts on that list.

Here’s a look at that from a Colts’ perspective:

Predicting the fate of Colts’ pending free agents in 2022

Who stays and who goes in 2022?

The Indianapolis Colts are one month away from free agency opening and while it’s unlikely they splurge, there are still a number of players set to hit the market in the middle of March.

With roughly 30 total pending free agents this offseason, the Colts have 24 listed as unrestricted (UFA), two as restricted (RFA) and four as exclusive rights free agents (ERFA).

Most of these players will wind up hitting the market. Some of them will be re-signed before the market even opens on March 14 (legal tampering period).

We’ve given our opinion on who the Colts should re-sign this offseason and which players they should let walk when the market opens.

Now, we’re going to predict the fate of every pending free agent for the Colts entering the 2022 offseason:

7 pending free agents the Colts should let walk

With free agency just over a month away, here are 7 players the Colts should let walk.

The Indianapolis Colts are just over a month away from the new league year opening, which means they’ll have their chances to make moves in free agency.

With a solid standing in the salary-cap department, the Colts can make as many moves as they want. It’s unlikely they will make splash additions, though, even if general manager Chris Ballard readjusts his process a bit when it comes to free agency.

The Colts have a number of players who held impactful roles set to hit the market when the middle of March arrives. We previously took a look at 12 pending free agents they should consider re-signing.

Now, it’s time to take a look at the players the Colts should let walk. This doesn’t mean the team should completely abandon these players but it might be best for them to test the market first in case there is a cheaper, younger and better alternative.

This list won’t include every player that the Colts shouldn’t bring back but instead, we’ll focus on the bigger names set to hit the market.

Here are seven pending free agents the Colts should let walk in 2022:

Longest-tenured Colts are contemplating retirement

The two longest-tenured Colts, T.Y. Hilton and Jack Doyle, are considering retirement this offseason.

The two longest-tenured players on the Indianapolis Colts roster are both contemplating the idea of retirement this offseason.

Both staples in the offense for the better part of the last decade, wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and tight end Jack Doyle have gotten to a point in their respective careers where the idea of hanging up the spikes grows stronger with each passing season.

For Doyle, who has been with the Colts since 2013, the punishment that the game of football doles out takes a toll. Though it’s no guarantee he retires, it’s one of the reasons why 2021 could be his last in the league.

“I’ve just been banged up. It’s been tough – tough on my body, tough on me just in general. It’s tough to play football and it’s tough to get out there every week,” Doyle said Monday to the media. “It’s kind of taken a toll. Like I said, I’ll take some time to think about it and obviously talk to people close to me and we’ll go from there.”

Doyle is under contract through the 2022 season so there will be slight implications. If he retires, the Colts will hold a dead cap of $750,000 while saving $5.45 million in salary-cap space, according to Over The Cap.

Doyle had a reduced role in the passing game during the 2021 season. He saw 43 targets for 29 receptions, 302 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. He still played 57.8% of the offensive snaps, which led tight ends on the roster.

As for Hilton, he appears to be more of a 50/50 toss up when it comes to retiring. He mentioned earlier in the season that he contemplated it after suffering a neck injury during the preseason.

With the regular season over, Hilton will now take some time to again revisit the idea of hanging up the spikes.

“I’m going to take some time, talk to Jack [Doyle], and, you know, just go through if I want to play one more year, I can play one more year. If not, then I won’t,” Hilton said Sunday. “So just talk to him, see what he’s feeling. And once he makes his decision, I’ll kind of know what I want to do kind of based on him, whether it’s here, whether it’s somewhere else. So, I’ll make my decision sometime in the offseason.”

Hilton isn’t under contract for 2022 but there could be slight salary-cap implications. The Colts restructured Hilton’s one-year contract mid-season to free up $2.3 million in salary-cap space by adding a voided year for 2022.

That means even if Hilton does retire, there will be a $2.3 million dead-cap hit in 2022.

The Ghost has been an incredible leader in the wide receiver room but between injuries and Michael Pittman Jr. taking over as the alpha, the production wasn’t there for the veteran wideout.

In 10 games (nine starts), Hilton caught 23 of 37 targets for 331 yards and three touchdowns.

Whatever happens with their decisions, both players will go down as highly-respected members of the organization.

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Colts fall short to Raiders, 23-20: Instant analysis

Instant analysis of the Colts’ 23-20 loss to the Raiders.

The Indianapolis Colts (9-7) and Las Vegas Raiders (9-7) both came into Sunday’s game at Lucas Oil Stadium with everything to play for.

Both teams needed a win, for the Colts a win clinched a playoff berth, for the Raiders they would need to win out.

One team came out strong, motivated and played like it was their last game. The Colts were not that team.

Indianapolis came out flat in the first half, once again struggling to put together sixty minutes of good football, and it cost them in the end as they were unable to stop a late drive by Las Vegas to steal the win from the home crowd.

Missing an entire week of practice and preparation due to being placed on the Reserve/COVID list seemed to affect Colts quarterback Carson Wentz as he did not have a good game at all, and was a disappointment in a game where your leaders need to show up.

Here’s our instant analysis from this Week 17 loss:

WATCH: T.Y. Hilton in perfect spot for deflected TD pass

T.Y. Hilton found himself in the perfect spot at the perfect time for this TD.

Sometimes, it’s just best to be in the right spot at the right time. That’s how Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton scored a touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders.

On the first offensive drive coming out of the second half down 13-10, Hilton and Ashton Dulin were down the field in the end zone as Carson Wentz evaded pressure and rolled to his right.

Taking a chance, Wentz launched a ball 45 yards downfield. It looked to be a sure interception but Dulin was able to make contact with the ball, which was tipped up perfectly for Hilton standing in the end zone.