Projected Cap Space: $33.6 million<\/p>\n
Draft Picks: 7<\/p>\n
2nd (No. 47)
\n3rd (No. 78)
\n4th (No. 113)
\n5th (No. 154)
\n6th (No. 216, comp)
\n7th (No. 230)
\n7th (No. 253, comp)<\/p>\n
Notable Free Agents:\u00a0<\/p>\n
2024 first-round pick Laiatu Latu<\/a> and 2025 second-round pick JT Tuimoloau<\/a> are the only rotational edge rushers under contract for the Colts in 2026. Paye, Ebukam and Lewis are all free agents and all played significant roles last year in Indy. Ebukam is likely to depart after making a minimal impact coming off an Achilles injury and Lewis could be retained cheaply if the coaching staff likes him enough, though upgrades are likely to be available in a similar price range.<\/p>\n Paye is the swing piece here. A former first-round pick, Paye never developed into a top-flight pass rusher despite his incredible athletic gifts. Still, he\u2019s been a stable starter for the Colts and is a plus run defender at the position. His market is likely to be $10-15 million per year and the Colts will have to decide if they want to bring him back or pursue an upgrade elsewhere.<\/p>\n One way or another, Indianapolis needs to add at least two rotational-caliber edge rushers this offseason, and one of them likely needs to be a capable starter. My guess is that they\u2019ll re-sign Paye to a modest one-year deal and add another edge rusher on Day 2 of the draft in what\u2019s looking like a deep defensive line class. Colts GM Chris Ballard loves to add to the trenches in the draft.<\/p>\n Linebacker play has been a weakness for this team for years now, but last year it was particularly bad. Pratt was signed midseason to provide a baseline of competence next to entrenched starter Zaire Franklin<\/a>. One of the leaders on this team, Franklin has been underperforming relative to his contract since he signed his extension. He can be cut this offseason for significant cap savings with minimal dead money.<\/p>\n Whether Franklin is on this team next season or not, the Colts need at least one new starter at linebacker. Converted safety Jaylon Carlies<\/a> was supposed to step into a starting role but injuries kept him out of the lineup for most of the season. It\u2019s a strong linebacker class and there will be plenty of options on the board when the Colts are picking throughout the middle rounds, so don\u2019t be surprised if they add multiple bodies at linebacker in the draft.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also a pretty strong free agent class at linebacker, if the Colts prefer that route. Devin Lloyd<\/a> and Nakobe Dean<\/a> are the headliners, but some more affordable options could include Alex Anzalone<\/a>, Denzel Perryman<\/a>, Leo Chenal<\/a>, Demario Davis<\/a>, Bobby Wagner<\/a>, Quincy Williams<\/a>, Quay Walker<\/a>\u00a0and Devin Bush<\/a>. Linebacker isn\u2019t a position the Colts have prioritized in recent years, but it\u2019s time they changed that.<\/p>\n This one is pretty straightforward. Cameron Bynum was a major hit for the Colts in free agency last year, but Cross and Thomas were the other two safeties who played significant snaps. Colts DC Lou Anarumo spends a lot of time in dime packages, so having three competent safeties is even more paramount for his unit.<\/p>\n Cross is probably the third priority for Indy in free agency behind Jones and Pierce. If his market balloons, he could get priced out of town, but that may not happen \u2014 especially given the strength in this draft class. If Cross does sign elsewhere, Indy can address the safety position in a draft where you can find starters as deep as the fifth round.<\/p>\n Exactly how healthy will Daniel Jones be?<\/p>\n Before Jones got injured, the Colts were 7-1 and on pace to earn the AFC\u2019s No. 1 seed. He then fractured his tibia and gritted through it \u2014 despite it clearly affecting his play \u2014 before tearing his Achilles and officially ending his season. The Colts went 1-8 in the second half of the season and missed the playoffs as injuries began piling up on defense as well.<\/p>\n All reports indicate that the Colts want Jones back and he wants to remain in Indianapolis, a move that makes sense for both parties. Jones was playing lights out when healthy and he\u2019s clearly the best quarterback option for the Colts, and for his side, they\u2019re likely to pay him more than other teams will at this stage.<\/p>\n Still, while Jones should be cleared in time for training camp, it often takes players an extra year past the \u201cstandard\u201d recovery time to get back to their old selves from Achilles injuries. The Colts need Jones at his best in HC Shane Steichen\u2019s offense, and if he\u2019s less than 100 percent, that puts a pretty strong cap on the Colts\u2019 ceiling next year.<\/p>\n Part of the reason the Colts fell off a cliff when Jones went down is because backup QB Anthony Richardson<\/a> Sr. was also out with a freak orbital bone fracture. Richardson was the No. 4 overall pick in 2023 but missed the bulk of his first two seasons with injuries. While he flashed considerable upside in his limited appearances, he was far from consistent, and Jones was brought in as a veteran option to compete with Richardson.<\/p>\n Richardson had a strong camp but obviously lost the battle to Jones, who played so well it almost doesn\u2019t matter how good Richardson has become. It remains to be seen if Richardson will even be on Indy\u2019s roster in 2026, but in theory, he should provide some insurance if Jones needs a few extra weeks to get his feet back under him.<\/p>\n If Jones plays like he did at the start of last season, the Colts will be right in the mix for a wide-open AFC next year. If he doesn\u2019t, it could spell the end for this entire coaching staff and front office.<\/p>\n Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?<\/p>\n Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors<\/a> on X.com<\/a>\u00a0and FACEBOOK<\/a>\u00a0for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Projected Cap Space: $33.6 million Draft Picks: 7 2nd (No. 47) 3rd (No. 78) 4th (No. 113) 5th…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":364123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2059],"tags":[2005,7,2004,392,2381,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-747042","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-indianapolis-colts","8":"tag-colts","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-indianapolis","11":"tag-indianapolis-colts","12":"tag-indianapoliscolts","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116057828421558772","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=747042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=747042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=747042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=747042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}