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Colts Officially part with Freeney and Collie

B-B

By B-B
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Gavin Walk On

Gavin

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Wound up not being about the money. I thought it was all offseason, but I was wrong. The dead cap hit would have been $5m. We carried him for $19m. I still think it was a mistake.

Of course it was but the possibility of what Freeney could do(in his mind) was just to tempting for Grigson in my opinion, I hope Grigson learns from this and doesn't repeat the same mistake twice

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BrentMc11 Walk On

BrentMc11

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Wound up not being about the money. I thought it was all offseason, but I was wrong. The dead cap hit would have been $5m. We carried him for $19m. I still think it was a mistake.

Thanks for the info.....must have missed that.  He showed some of the old Free when playing.  In a 11-5 year, I am glad he was here....of course....he was too :)  $$$$$$$  :)

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Warhawk Walk On

Warhawk

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As much as I appreciate what Freeney did for us for all those years, this was the right call.  There would simply be no justification for paying an average 3-4 OLB (which he is) the kind of money (which he deserves) due an elite 4-3 DE (which he also is).

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Gavin Walk On

Gavin

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As much as I appreciate what Freeney did for us for all those years, this was the right call.  There would simply be no justification for paying an average 3-4 OLB (which he is) the kind of money (which he deserves) due an elite 4-3 DE (which he also is).

Already been down the paying him road for a role he dont fit lol

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JlynRN Hall of Famer

JlynRN

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Sad ti see them go, although I think we all knew it was coming.  Dwight, I loved watching you play and wish you the best wherever you go  Austin, loved watching you play too, just didn't like to see you get hurt :(  Like others have said, hope Austin can find a new home, but might be best for him to retire given all his injuries.

 

Good bye Austin and Dwight, I will miss you both !!!   :coltslogo:

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JoKeR Walk On

JoKeR

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Thanks D-Free you and Mathis made it fun to watch defense. Hope you retire on top after a great season playing DE again.

Thanks Collie, if you feel you still can go, if you still have the drive, go for it! I'd like to see you as CPY somewhere.

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Andy Walk On

Andy

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Very sad day.

 

Dwight has been a big part of this franchise ever since he came here in 2002. He's been a fan favorite and a sack machine. I had to expect that he probably wouldn't be returning, but this feels awful. I'm very sad. 

 

Austin too, but Dwight will surely be missed. One of my all time favorites!

 

Thanks for everything!

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Andy Walk On

Andy

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Quick article I wrote about them:

 

 

The Dwight Freeney era has come to an end in Indianapolis; the Colts have decided to not bring back the long-time defensive end and Austin Collie, their injury prone wide receiver.

 

It was a sad day in Indianapolis. Dwight Freeney, who was expected to leave Indianapolis, spent 11 years with the Colts and with the exception of Reggie Wayne (who beats him by 1 year), was the longest tenured Colt. 

Dwight was known for his great speed and his fantastic spin move, a move that would be copied by many of the best players in the game today. In short, he revolutionized the position. It was rare to see a guy that small, at 6'1, 260 pounds be among the sack leaders. The defensive end position was once dominated by huge, 280+ pound players; now, a lot of the better defensive ends around are smaller than 265. There was a changing of the guard.

However, in the past few years, we witnessed a bit of a decline. The once 12+ sack machine, was now barely getting to double digits, and then this past season it took a giant turn downhill. Freeney, who was transitioning to the 3-4 system, didn't seem to fit in properly, and at times was completely invisible. He was often injury throughout the season as well. Nothing went his way this year. It was time to move on.

Freeney, who's cap hit was 19 million dollars this year, did not prove he deserved to get that kind of money. However, it seemed that money was less of a factor in the decision making. It was his fit that was the ultimate reason why he was released.

The Colts also decided to cut Austin Collie, their young veteran wide receiver. Showing flashes of promise in his early years and at one put gaining the title of one of the best young receivers in the game, Collie suffered a bad concussion against the Eagles. It was downhill since then. He was never the same since that concussion and suffered many more since that one. However, it was a right patellar tendon injury that took him out this season.

If healthy, Collie could be a very good addition to most teams. As for Freeney, some teams may look to him for a short-term solution in a 4-3 system. It's clear he's not a 3-4 guy.

It was a pleasure watching Dwight Freeney play, and I hope this isn't the end of the road for him. The same goes for Austin Collie, who has a lot of promise if he can stay healthy. 

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dw49 Active Roster

dw49

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Wound up not being about the money. I thought it was all offseason, but I was wrong. The dead cap hit would have been $5m. We carried him for $19m. I still think it was a mistake.

 

 

Some are worried about Grigson making "another mistake." The guy is no fool,he knew Freeney was worth no where near a 14 mill base salary. Here's why (IMO) he just elected to bite the bullett and pay him.

 

1) The Colts had already parted ways with Manning , Clarke , Addai , Saturday and whoever else I'm forgetting. He probably thought it would be a popular move with the fan base to not Jettison Freeney also.

 

2) The new defense really relies on a pass rush and good CB's. We had horrible CB's and Grigson probably thought at least with Freeney and Mathis , he could rush the passer.

 

3) The team looked to have a really bad roster and the Colts needed to at least attempt to be a little bit more competitive. Kind of saying how bad of a product could you put out there in 2012 ? I know... we were 11-5... go figure. Let's not forget that in 2011 Freeney was still terrorizing QB's.

 

4) Where Grigson was actually smart in all this , is he did not sign Freeney to a new deal. He could have lowered the 2012 cap hit and brought in another player. Instead , we can now just let  Freeney move on and not suffer and cap hit going forward. If DF had adapted to the new system and looked to have something left in the tank , he still had a shot to resign him to a 2-3 year deal that may have been OK. 

 

I'm not saying that he would not have been better served to use that 14 mill on another player , like say a Carl Nicks , just trying to maybe justify why he chose to pay that huge base last year. As it turned out , he was wrong as Freeney played nowhere up to that contract and  it can't be considred smart looking back at it now.

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dw49 Active Roster

dw49

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For those that were questioning what the Colts were really doing or trying to accomplish with this... They were simply extending tthe two players the courtesy of knowing early in the process that they need to look oitside the Colt organization for 2013.

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NewColtsFan Ring of Honor

NewColtsFan

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And though it may not be popular to say this.....

 

But....

 

Props to Bill Polian and his staff for recognizing that Freeney would be the perfect fit playings for the Colts.   An indoor team playing on the carpet really played to Freeney's strength.

 

I don't think Freeney was on anyone's Big Board as a high first round pick...   and Freeney went 11th overall.  I had to go look it up to confirm.   I do remember there was a LOT of second guessing of the pick way back when.   And it surely panned out well for the Colts.

 

This was a bold move and it paid off big time for the Colts.    Good for Polian and Dwight and the Colts.....

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FalseStart Practice Squad

FalseStart

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FYI...Nice Information: Thx Dwight & Austin.

Possible cap casualties: In his first season at the helm of the Colts, general manager Ryan Grigson made the decision to part ways with several veterans, many of whom had recently signed multi-year extensions. As a result, the Colts had around $40 million in "dead" money on last year's cap. Cap Space: (43.79 million)

With over $40 million in available space in 2013, the Colts won't have to make similar cuts. However, if Grigson really wants some additional space, a quick way to do that would be to convert Robert Mathis' $3 million roster bonus, which is due on March 14, into a signing bonus. By prorating that amount over the three years that remain on Mathis' current contract, the Colts would gain an additional $2 million in cap space in 2013, but would add $1 million to his 2014 and 2015 cap numbers. With this much cap space, though, there's no reason to push cap dollars into future seasons.

Unrestricted free agents

Donnie Avery, WR
Darius Butler, CB
Austin Collie, WR
Moise Fokou, LB
Dwight Freeney, LB
Tony Hills, OT
Antonio Johnson, NT
Winston Justice, OT
Pat McAfee, P
Fili Moala, DL
Mewelde Moore, RB
Jerraud Powers, CB
Drew Stanton, QB
Jamaal Westerman, LB

Restricted free agents

A.J. Edds, LB
Jeff Linkenbach, G/T
Seth Olsen, G
Cassius Vaughn, CB

RFA tender amounts in 2013 are:

• $1.323 million for right of first refusal and/or original draft round compensation
• $2.023 for right of first refusal and second round draft selection
• $2.879 for right of first refusal and first round draft selection

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MR. Blueblood Walk On

MR. Blueblood

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Not surprised at all by either move and both of them are the right ones to make, IMO.  I will miss Dwight on the field, but will not miss his arrogance while signing autographs for fans at training camp.  Never have I seen anybody so smug.  Takes the item from people, turns his back most of the time to sign it and then just kind of hands it back in the direction that it came from.  Not real engaging with the fans, and it just really rubbed me the wrong way.  Best of luck to whatever team you go to, and I can honestly say that I won't miss you in August in Anderson.

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House Walk On

House

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Not surprised at all by either move and both of them are the right ones to make, IMO. I will miss Dwight on the field, but will not miss his arrogance while signing autographs for fans at training camp. Never have I seen anybody so smug. Takes the item from people, turns his back most of the time to sign it and then just kind of hands it back in the direction that it came from. Not real engaging with the fans, and it just really rubbed me the wrong way. Best of luck to whatever team you go to, and I can honestly say that I won't miss you in August in Anderson.

My best friend has an undying grudge for Freeney from a training camp interaction lol.

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MR. Blueblood Walk On

MR. Blueblood

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My best friend has an undying grudge for Freeney from a training camp interaction lol.

 

Not surprised at all.  I guess on one hand at least he's signing stuff for fans (select items that it, some stuff he refuses to sign), but on the other he shouldn't act like it's a total pain in the behind for him to be bothered by us too.  I would rather him just hop on the golf cart and ride on back to the facility than to stay on the field and act like a jerk.

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