Will the Indianapolis Colts be active in free agency this offseason? One NFL insider believes so.
In ESPN’s free agency primer, one of the questions asked was which teams could be the most active in free agency. Among the four teams mentioned by Jeremy Fowler was the Colts.
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“This is about keeping their top players in-house. The Colts want to retain Alec Pierce before the new league year after tagging Daniel Jones. Indy (with $33.2 million in cap space) also needs edge rush help,” wrote Fowler.
As Fowler notes, if the Colts are going to retain Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce, they’ll have to be big spenders to do so.
But in addition to that, the defensive front seven needs to be reshaped. Depth along the defensive front and at linebacker are pressing needs, along with GM Chris Ballard needing to find an added coverage presence at linebacker and more pass-rush juice up front.
When owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon spoke with the media after the season, she mentioned how Ballard adapted his roster-building approach, which included being more aggressive.
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Ballard then seemed to acknowledge that continuing down that path was going to be the plan this offseason.
However, in order to have that ability, the salary cap has to be reworked in the coming days. After placing the transition tag on Jones, the Colts are now several million dollars over the 2026 salary cap.
Agreeing to a long-term deal with Jones would free up quite a bit of room, which is perhaps the plan for GM Chris Ballard.
There are also other ways to manipulate the salary cap, whether that be through contract restructures, contract extensions in some instances, and veteran cuts.
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It’s now or never for the Ballard-led Colts in 2026, and being active in free agency would reflect that.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: NFL free agency: Indianapolis Colts could be active, says insider