Feb. 7, 2026, 8:33 a.m. ET
The Indianapolis Colts were among the seven teams that one analyst believes will be hit hard by the 2026 free agency period.
Matt Okada of NFL.com ranked the seven teams that will be hit the hardest by free agency this offseason, taking into account available cap space and key players who are set to become free agents.
The Colts came in at No. 6 on this list despite having quite a bit of salary cap space to work with this offseason. According to Okada, the Colts have $35.5 million in available cap space, which is better than the league median.
So why are the Colts on this list?
One of the big reasons Okada mentioned is that to retain Jones — which seems to be what is going to happen — the Colts will have to potentially sign him to a hefty deal as he comes off an Achilles injury.
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PFF recently projected what Jones’ next deal could look like.
Along with Jones’ deal, Nick Cross, Alec Pierce, Braden Smith, and Germain Pratt — key starters for the Colts — are all free agents.
“Retaining Jones, getting him healthy and assembling a playoff-worthy roster around him will not be easy, and if Indy can’t do all of the above, it’ll be a real challenge for Indy to break end its five-year playoff drought,” Okada wrote.
There is a risk that can come with a big new deal for Jones, but the Colts are running it back because the organization believes that the success that was had through the first half of the season can be replicated and sustained in 2026.
We saw Ballard take a more aggressive approach last offseason, which paid off for the Colts, and he’s in a position to do that again.