Colts in Contract Years

[Freenyfan102]

Or a really good canal to swim in.

We should all pitch in and see if the City of Indy will let us put a sign up near where he Dove into the Canel that Read "Yeap Pat McaFee Jumped into the Water Here."

[OJl]

moala is a must keep??? hmmmmm

No he is not a must keep. But you can't replace everyone in one year.

[OJl]

This is a foregone conclusion. NO ONE is going to pay Freeney $20m a year to do anything. That's top five quarterback money. In reality, this season is an anomaly for him. He was never supposed to have such a high cap hit, and the average over the life of the contract was $12m/year.

I hope Dwight retires a Colt but I doubt it will happen. All it takes is ONE team to throw stupid money at Freeney.

[Freenyfan102]

What is the COlts Cap space next year?

[CardiacColts]

I do think he wants a shot, at least, to be a place kicker. But Vinatieri's contract is up after next season. That might be enough to get McAfee to stay away from free agency.

Very good point. That should be enough. I don't see Adam being resigned.

[NewColtsFan]

I question the likelihood of Stanton returning. He was looking to start when he signed in NY. His potential dropped when they brought in Tebow, and he argued his way out of there. I don't suspect he has any reason to think he'd start here. He'd be better off in KC, Cleveland (organizational changes going on there), and maybe a few other places. I dunno, but he isn't a lock, IMO.

I'm pretty confident the comment in bold is not correct. The Jets had just signed Sanchez to a new deal with a big signing bonus. He's got guaranteed money in 2013 ($8.25 mill) There's no way Stanton thought he'd be a starter with that happening.

Stanton was brought in to be the primary back-up. Then, 1-2 days later, the Jets made the trade for Tebow. Knowing that he was suddenly going to be the 3rd string QB, Stanton demanded a trade. (good for him for doing so) But, he's got nothing in his back-ground that says starter. He's a back-up. And, I think a decent one. I hope we bring him back. My guess is we do.

[Gavin]

Resign

Donnie Avery-Dropped a couple he should have had this year but has played as good as a #2 and is an instant scoring threat

Darius Butler-Can compete for the Nickel job going forward

Antonio Johnson-Not our starter going forward but decent depth

Pat Mcafee-need a Punter and he is one of the better Punters in the league

A.Q. Shipley-Should be starting at Center this year, he would get the low snaps under control I am sure

Matt Overton

Drew Stanton- decent depth if he walks then we sign Seth Doege in FA if he is not drafted or Derek Carr (yep David Carr's younger brother)

Jeff Linkenbach-decent depth at Guard, has no business at RT in the NFL

Winston Justice-has played decent this year, not the anwer going forward but as a backup option is good in my book until proven otherwise

Josh Gordy-Compete for the Nickel with Butler but should not be a #2 option

Moise Fokou-Better run stopper then he is back in coverage, Depth going forward

Release

Tony Hills

Clifton Geathers

Dwight Freeney

Mewelde Moore

Deji Karim

Mario Harvey

Justin Hickman

Martin Tevasue

Cassius Vaughn(Nice pick 6 the last game but took him 13 games to make a positive impact)

Jamaal Westerman

[Eltelaol]

Darius Butler looks good. How he is not starting over Vaughn is baffeling. Maybe just because Vaughn has been with the team longer and knows the system better.

Vaughn had a pick 6 last week. However, they threw that same pass to Britt several times and it was money. The opposite team has had a receiver with 100+ yards week in and week out because of Vaughn. It's like people are loving him now because he finally figured out a play that has beat him time after time.

Go Butler, I'm excited about him!!!

[The Peytonator]

No love for Lawrence Guy? Dude was balling on Sunday.

I honestly don't think anyone is a 'must' sign. Moala is alright but I don't quite get why people think he's any more than a decent backup. I would like to keep Pat, but I don't think you can consider a punter to be 'must' sign.

Hickman, Butler, Guy, Tevaseu, Avery, Collie, Linkenbach, Shipley, Overton, McAfee.....really the only ones I want to keep, and Linkenbach is for sentimental reasons.

[Freenyfan102]

Why you want linkencrap?

[Gavin]

No love for Lawrence Guy? Dude was balling on Sunday.

I honestly don't think anyone is a 'must' sign. Moala is alright but I don't quite get why people think he's any more than a decent backup. I would like to keep Pat, but I don't think you can consider a punter to be 'must' sign.

Hickman, Butler, Guy, Tevaseu, Avery, Collie, Linkenbach, Shipley, Overton, McAfee.....really the only ones I want to keep, and Linkenbach is for sentimental reasons.

Guy is signed for another year

[Gavin]

Why you want linkencrap?

He is the best Guard we have including Reitz, Link has no business starting at RT though

[The Peytonator]

Why you want linkencrap?

For sentimental reasons *!!

Really though he is competent at 4/5 of the offensive line positions. Not good, but competent.

[The Peytonator]

He is easily the best Guard we have, has no business starting at RT though

Well I wouldn't go THAT far now.....

[Gavin]

Well I wouldn't go THAT far now.....

I would this year

[The Peytonator]

I would this year

I'm sure he's better than Reitz when he's injured, but Reitz is the far superior lineman.

[Gavin]

I'm sure he's better than Reitz when he's injured, but Reitz is the far superior lineman.

In pass blocking I'd say yes but in run blocking I would say no, I tend to think both players are on borrowed time at Guard, Neither are the future I would hope

[Warhorse]

For all those who say there is now way we resign Freeney for big money, please admit if you also said there was no way that the Colts would have him as a LB this season for 19 large.

;)

[Gavin]

For all those who say there is now way we resign Freeney for big money, please admit if you also said there was no way that the Colts would have him as a LB this season for 19 large.

;)

Both are/were illogical decisions from day 1

[Coltswarriors]

I'd like to have McAfee, Avery, & Fokou.

Possibly Powers if we don't have better options out there & I'd like to have Freeney back if it's a reasonable contract.

[HtownColt]

Powers is a good nickel back. he just can't cover nobody on the outside on an island on a consistent basis

[Warhorse]

Both are/were illogical decisions from day 1

My point was that the discounting of that happening again is possibly just as naive now as it was then. I wasn't saying whether it was right or wrong. For what it's worth, I believe that D coordinators still concentrate on Dfree as much as any defender on the Colts.

[Freenyfan102]

I doubt think we will bring freeny back nor will we bring him back.....So far in our defence he is just a name and that is alll.. He does not have the threat he used to unless it with a 4 3

[esmort]

I would not mind seeing Freeney come back at a very reasonable contract and retire a Colt... but there will definitely be at least one 4/3 team that will take a chance and throw a big offer at him. The only way he comes back is if he follows Reggie's example and gives us the hometown discount.

[Balzer40]

I maybe completely off on this, but I don't think Freeney really wants to come back and play OLB. I know he says the right things and he is a good soldier, but IMO he's just getting through this season so he can go to a 4-3 team so he can start padding his sack numbers again. Plus, I don't think there is a chance in (you know where) that the Colts want to pay him even close to what he'll want and IMO, they shouldn't.

[Superman]

For all those who say there is now way we resign Freeney for big money, please admit if you also said there was no way that the Colts would have him as a LB this season for 19 large.

;)

Present.

Although, my exception to the Freeney situation had very little to do with the position change, and much more to do with the contract. We could have -- and, I think, should have -- addressed that contract one way or the other before the season started. I didn't expect us to trade or release him, but I also didn't expect us to carry him at $19m all season. Biggest mistake of the Grigson era, in my mind, but this may have been a decision that came from Irsay.

However, if we re-sign him for big money, it would only compound the mistake of keeping him at that cap number. There were multiple better ways to handle that situation.

My point was that the discounting of that happening again is possibly just as naive now as it was then. I wasn't saying whether it was right or wrong. For what it's worth, I believe that D coordinators still concentrate on Dfree as much as any defender on the Colts.

I agree with this. It's obvious from the way they double him (not every down, of course, but quite often), and the way practically every team is determined to get the ball out as quickly as possible against our defense. The Locker interception on Sunday was partly due to the Titans desire to keep him away from any pass rush. Not saying Freeney caused that interception, but everyone game plans with Freeney and Mathis in mind.

[GoColts8818]

Okay another question. If we offer him a contract and another team offers him a higher contract does that mean he has to take the highest contract or can he stay in Indy if he wants to? Sorry for so many questions but I don't completely know this contract thing. Also have we ever tagged a punter?

No it's cool.

Pretty much if we franchise tag him then he can only sign with us. The deal with the franchise tag is that yit means you are giving him a one year contract worth the average of the top three highest paid players at your poistion in the NFL. That's why you normally see long term deals signed after it because the player wants a long term deal because and the team doesn't want to be on the hook for dollar figure for one year. It's really become a negoation tatic or way to make sure if you have a player you know you don't want to let test the market to kinda say hands off. That's how we used it in the past with guys like Peyton twice and Mathis just last year. We also tagged Edge for a year but let him leave after the one year deal.

There are restricted free agents that can sign with another team and then you have a week to match and if you don't you get a draft pick for losing that player but I don't think Pat is a restricted free agent.

I would say the goal would be first to see if we can get a deal done with Pat before the deadline to put a franchise tag on him. If we can't I would be okay with tagging him because I could see another team coming in and showing interest in Pat and there is always a chance that any free agent could jump. A franchised punter isn't going to be that expensive and frankly Pat is probably worth that kind of money. From there I would hope we would keep working towards a long term deal not unlike what we did with Mathis last year.

To answer another poster I don't think any other team has used the tag on the punter but if you look at the Colts would be free agents we don't have anyone else that would be worth the tag. So if we can't get a long term deal done with Pat by the tag deadline why not do it if we want to bring Pat back?

[Superman]

No it's cool.

Pretty much if we franchise tag him then he can only sign with us. The deal with the franchise tag is that yit means you are giving him a one year contract worth the average of the top three highest paid players at your poistion in the NFL. That's why you normally see long term deals signed after it because the player wants a long term deal because and the team doesn't want to be on the hook for dollar figure for one year. It's really become a negoation tatic or way to make sure if you have a player you know you don't want to let test the market to kinda say hands off. That's how we used it in the past with guys like Peyton twice and Mathis just last year. We also tagged Edge for a year but let him leave after the one year deal.

There are restricted free agents that can sign with another team and then you have a week to match and if you don't you get a draft pick for losing that player but I don't think Pat is a restricted free agent.

I would say the goal would be first to see if we can get a deal done with Pat before the deadline to put a franchise tag on him. If we can't I would be okay with tagging him because I could see another team coming in and showing interest in Pat and there is always a chance that any free agent could jump. A franchised punter isn't going to be that expensive and frankly Pat is probably worth that kind of money. From there I would hope we would keep working towards a long term deal not unlike what we did with Mathis last year.

To answer another poster I don't think any other team has used the tag on the punter but if you look at the Colts would be free agents we don't have anyone else that would be worth the tag. So if we can't get a long term deal done with Pat by the tag deadline why not do it if we want to bring Pat back?

Steve Weatherford, mentioned earlier.

Also, there's still a non-exclusive franchise tag that allows a player to sign with another team, but the team that tagged him gets two first round picks as compensation. Most of the players tagged last offseason were non-exclusive franchise players, but I'm pretty sure non of them moved, and the majority of them worked out long term deals with their team.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82756d1c/article/teams-that-have-used-franchise-tags-on-2012-free-agents?module=HP11_headline_stack

[GoColts8818]

Must Keep:

Moala: Has taken to the 3/4 defense like a duck takes to water and is great at stopping the run from his end spot

McAfee: Has become a real weapon for the Colts something we have not seen at punter since Ron Stark

Would like to Keep:

Justice: I think if he's your fourth of fifth o-lineman you are alright. We just need to upgrade the rest of the line around him to make sure he is our fourth or fifth best lineman.

Vaughn: I think would be a solid nickle or dime back. We need to upgrade the number 2 corner spot but he would make a solid backup.

Butler: See what I said about Vaughn

Mathews: Never going to be superstar player that is going to win you games but is a solid back up and special teams player

Fokou: Has been our pass defense MLB and has made some nice plays for us this season.

Link: Not as a starter but a solid back up who can play just about every poistion on the line in a pinch.

Tevaseu: Underrated DT for us however if McKinne comes back healthy with Johnson and Chapman he might get squized out.

Stanton: I would like to keep him but I think he will look for a team where he has a chance of playing.

Sanders: Very good blocking TE and fills a role that Fleener and Allen does not.

Might Keep:

Avery: I like him but frankly I think we have two younger versions of him on the roster in Brazil and Hilton. I would not shock me at all if we let him walk and go after a big tall WR.

Reitz: I like him but he is hurt way too much to think you can count on him.

Powers: Make all the Dwight Freeney comments you want but I don't think any player has struggled more with the switch to the 3/4 than Powers has. With that said maybe he just had a bad season and if we can get him on a cheap deal I wouldn't scream about it.

Collie: Clearly has injury issues but if we can get him for league minimum of close to it why not at least kick the tires? The worst you do is just release him if he doesn't work out. If it's a cheap contract it would be a very low risk that could have a big pay off.

[GoColts8818]

Steve Weatherford, mentioned earlier.

Also, there's still a non-exclusive franchise tag that allows a player to sign with another team, but the team that tagged him gets two first round picks as compensation. Most of the players tagged last offseason were non-exclusive franchise players, but I'm pretty sure non of them moved, and the majority of them worked out long term deals with their team.

http://www.nfl.com/n..._headline_stack

Right I was just trying to keep it simple for her because not many if any players have moved once franchised tag no matter which kind are used because teams jsut don't want to pay that high of price in terms of picks for a player. I forgot about Weatherford.

[Superman]

Tevaseu: Underrated DT for us however if McKinne comes back healthy with Johnson and Chapman he might get squized out.

Just realized that there's a name missing from the OP's list: Antonio Johnson. He's a free agent at year's end.

[Superman]

Right I was just trying to keep it simple for her because not many if any players have moved once franchised tag no matter which kind are used because teams jsut don't want to pay that high of price in terms of picks for a player. I forgot about Weatherford.

Very true. Just adding that in because she was asking whether it's possible or not. It is possible, but it never happens because of the price tag.

Although, the teams can negotiate lesser compensation after a player has been tagged with the non-exclusive designation.

[GoColts8818]

Very true. Just adding that in because she was asking whether it's possible or not. It is possible, but it never happens because of the price tag.

Although, the teams can negotiate lesser compensation after a player has been tagged with the non-exclusive designation.

Right and you are 100% spot on and I thought about putting that in there but I just figured it would be more confusing so I just left it to how it pretty much works .

[mvbighead]

I'm pretty confident the comment in bold is not correct. The Jets had just signed Sanchez to a new deal with a big signing bonus. He's got guaranteed money in 2013 ($8.25 mill) There's no way Stanton thought he'd be a starter with that happening.

Stanton was brought in to be the primary back-up. Then, 1-2 days later, the Jets made the trade for Tebow. Knowing that he was suddenly going to be the 3rd string QB, Stanton demanded a trade. (good for him for doing so) But, he's got nothing in his back-ground that says starter. He's a back-up. And, I think a decent one. I hope we bring him back. My guess is we do.

[superrep1967]

Maybe only about 5 of these Guys get resigned or considered to get re-signed.

Avery

Fokou

Freeney

Moala

McAfee

& MAYBE Collie gets another shot but I doubt it

We don't give Collie another shot no way!

[sb41champs]

My "wish list" would be to keep:

 

Pat McAfee

Joe Reitz

Filli Moala

 

Try to re-sign Dwight Freeney - BUT - ONLY at the "right price"  !!

[superrep1967]

I'd put a priority on resigning the guys in bold. The guys in italics would probably get offers, but nothing long term or with guaranteed money. Jerraud Powers might be a two year offer, $8m, or something like that.

The rest of the guys might get camp invites if they're still available in mid-June.

I would express to Freeney and his agent my desire to allow him to retire as a Colt, but that the team has moved on from relying on him like we used to. If he wants to stay, it's going to be on a lower level contract (three years, $20m). But Freeney probably won't be around next season.

He won't be

[Superman]

He won't be

 

 

...

 

 

I guess that's settled then.

[Balzer40]

I really can't understand why people want Freeney back, unless it is just purely an emotional attachment thing. Im as big a fan of Freeney as the next guy, but he simply has not been very good in this system. He is a liability in the run game and his pass rushing has been virtually non-existant. Bringing Freeney back for anything besides a very minimal contract IMO, should be out of the question.

...And even though Freeney has given no indication that he wants to leave, IMO he probably wants to go back to a 4-3 team where his pass rushing skills are utilized to his liking. I like the guy and wish him the best, but I would rather they spend the money on a player that is more suited to the system and is much younger. I just see no reason to bring him back.