Resigning the draft class of 2012

[ponyboy]

I'd bet the Colts would like to retain the top four from the 2012 draft -- Luck, Hilton, Fleener, and Allen.  I'd sure like to see it happen.

 

They're all under contract through the 2015 season and Luck's 5th year option would clearly be picked up if needed.   However I'm wondering if they might have to start extending some contracts this off-season so that they don't all hit unrestricted FA status after next season (excluding Luck who could potentially be unrestricted in 2017 with the 5th year option).

 

- Luck:  They will clearly resign Luck.  They have the 5th year option and can use the franchise tag after that if he's not extended earlier.  However, Luck is a player that would still get offers from other teams even with the franchise tag.  I'm sure many teams would be willing to part with 2 first round draft picks to sign Luck.  If the Colts let it get to this point the offers from other teams could get out of hand and could end up costing the Colts a lot more to match a ridiculous offer vs. extending him to a good offer earlier.

 

- Hilton: If he continues to produce and is injury free you'd probably see the franchise tag used for him in 2016 if he's still unsigned (assuming Luck is already extended or on his 5th year option with the 2017 franchise tag available for him).

 

- Allen and Fleener:  If they are both unsigned before 2016 and Hilton is tagged, then these two will be free to sign anywhere.  It would be expensive to sign them both because FA tends to inflate salaries as teams compete to sign them.

 

I think offering a few long term extensions this off-season might be needed (maybe Luck or Hilton and one of Fleener/Allen).  I'm curious if others have opinions on how/when/if all four get resigned.  Getting these four signed to reasonable fair market value contracts might be Grigson's biggest challenge yet.

[CR91]

colts have the money to resign all four. we just have to be smart on how we use our cap this off-season

[Dark Superman]

I don't see Fleener or Allen commanding a ton of money. They aren't top 5 TE's

[shakedownstreet]

i hope they don't resign! 

[crazycolt1]

I don't see Fleener or Allen commanding a ton of money. They aren't top 5 TE's

Fleener is rated #7 right now. That's not a top 5 but it's not bad. Allen has a very high percentage of TD catches. With all things considered both TEs are doing a great job. Allen may have had as many TD catches as any TE if he had played all season who knows? Not bad with most having Fleener being a bust in a lot of Colt fans eyes.

[Jdubu]

Luck and TY are a pretty much certainty. Costanza is a high likelihood. fleener is a high likelihood. Allen is that one that gets sacrificed if cap and bonus money becomes a big issue for Irsays pockets imo. Not that Allen isn't a vital cog in this offense but can we truly afford a top 3 paid QB, a top 5 paid WR, a top 5 paid TE and possible 2? The oline will need more money spent on it in the near future unless we get lucky and hit on a prospect next draft. Defense too will have to have some cash thrown at it. You just can't have top 5 paid guys at all your spots and expect to make the cap or stay competitive for long term.

Fleener right now isn't top 5 money but if he continues his learning curve that he is on, he will command top 5 money to retain. Allen, while coming out and playing big out of the gate, he is more replaceable on the team than a high functioning Fleener imo unless they see a sparkle in the PS kid they selected in the last draft/FA period. There are always tough choices to make so I'm never surprised at someone who you think is a slam dunk (exception of Luck) not getting resigned to pay for 3 other parts of the team.

[dw49]

I've studied the cap picture in years 2015 and 2016 and there is absolutely no sweat signing all those players mentioned plus even adding a stud OL to it. In 2016 you won't have Thomas salary for almost 4 mill. Probably not RJF and Jackson for another 10 mill. Landry will also be gone , that's another 5 mill. So add 13 mill for Luck , another 2 mill for Costanzo (5th year option is 7.5 ... 9.5 should work there. TY at 8 mill per and the two TE's at say 11 mill. So you're only adding like 15 million here and we are far below that in projected cap. Plus if Cherlius proves he can't protect Luck , we cut ties there and save another couple mill of the 2016 cap. It's really no sweat and besides all that the cap will be much higher in 2016. I haven't felt like posting this stuff as many really don't understand the cap , but believe me , we are not done in free agency and are set up to keep any players we want to keep. Andrew's cap hit in 2016 will be in the 20 mill range. That's only 13 mill more than now. 

[Smonroe]

i hope they don't resign! 

I think we're resigned to re-signing them.

[Jdubu]

I've studied the cap picture in years 2015 and 2016 and there is absolutely no sweat signing all those players mentioned plus even adding a stud OL to it. In 2016 you won't have Thomas salary for almost 4 mill. Probably not RJF and Jackson for another 10 mill. Landry will also be gone , that's another 5 mill. So add 13 mill for Luck , another 2 mill for Costanzo (5th year option is 7.5 ... 9.5 should work there. TY at 8 mill per and the two TE's at say 11 mill. So you're only adding like 15 million here and we are far below that in projected cap. Plus if Cherlius proves he can't protect Luck , we cut ties there and save another couple mill of the 2016 cap. It's really no sweat and besides all that the cap will be much higher in 2016. I haven't felt like posting this stuff as many really don't understand the cap , but believe me , we are not done in free agency and are set up to keep any players we want to keep. Andrew's cap hit in 2016 will be in the 20 mill range. That's only 13 mill more than now.

I agree with most of what you point out here as well however, when you think about signing luck and TY, that's a huge chunk of cash up front. Add in costanza and Fleener, your just talking a huge amount of cash, not cap to pay for. Irsays isn't JJ or Snyder, he isn't as flush with cash. That's where I'm saying some of these things will have to be weighted out imo.

[dw49]

I agree with most of what you point out here as well however, when you think about signing luck and TY, that's a huge chunk of cash up front. Add in costanza and Fleener, your just talking a huge amount of cash, not cap to pay for. Irsays isn't JJ or Snyder, he isn't as flush with cash. That's where I'm saying some of these things will have to be weighted out imo.

 

 

I don't ver recall this being a problem in the past but who am I today ?

 

He appears to be about in the middle of the pack as far as net worth...

 

http://www.chatsports.com/nfl/a/How-Much-Is-Each-NFL-Owner-Worth-10-206-847

[COLTS449]

We wont have a problem signing all 4, but I do want us to go ahead and lock Luck up this offseason and get it out of the way. The cap is going to continue to rise as well so we can still add a few key free agents this offseason, but we do really need to hit on this years draft and get 3 or 4 starters, and it would be nice if guys like Holmes or Harrison, and Thornton or even Nixon developed into solid O Lineman to keep us from having to spend big money there for a few years.

[ponyboy]

The point I was trying to make in the OP wasn't so much about having cap space -- but the possibility that all 4 could hit unrestricted FA in the same year and be available to other teams (with only one tag to use).  To prevent that I was wondering if we might start to think about extending a few of the contracts this off season -- and who might be considered first for an extension?

[Jdubu]

When we signed Peyton, may have been his second contract, I recall Irsays needing to sell some personal assets to pay the SB. Maybe he has more bank now from having much better success over the past 10+ years with Peyton. That just how I recall it and why I say cash could be an issue for all the SB money that will be paid out at once. Idk

[Superman]

The point I was trying to make in the OP wasn't so much about having cap space -- but the possibility that all 4 could hit unrestricted FA in the same year and be available to other teams (with only one tag to use).  To prevent that I was wondering if we might start to think about extending a few of the contracts this off season -- and who might be considered first for an extension?

 

I think the team will want to re-sign all of them this year, for the very reason you mention. The question will be about reaching terms with them.

 

Take Dwayne Allen, for instance. He's obviously one of the most talented and versatile TEs in the game. But his production and performance has been hurt by his injuries since 2013. So what kind of contract does he get? Also, he's not expendable, but he's also not the only TE worth being re-signed on the roster. Obviously, all things being equal, we'd choose Allen over Fleener, but Allen can't demand top 5 TE money, because he'd price himself out of Indy by doing so.

 

Fleener has been a slow starter. People might have envisioned him being the Aaron Hernandez to Allen's Gronkowski. He hasn't been productive to that degree, and can't demand $8m/year. If he does, we can't and won't pay him that.

 

In a perfect world, we'll reach terms with Allen, Fleener and Hilton at some point in 2015 on contracts that are fair for both sides. We'll also need to get an extension done with Castonzo. I think all that will get done without too much trouble. Then, sometime prior to the start of the 2016 season, we'll get Luck's deal done. That's the ideal resolution to all of this. The team has the cap space and the vision to get this all done on schedule. The only question will be about reaching agreement with the players and their agents.

 

Somewhat off-topic: I'm encouraged by the fact that TY Hilton cut ties with Drew Rosenhaus earlier this year, but his new agent has represented guys like Josh Freeman (who undermined the Bucs front office and coaching staff), Geno Smith (who fired Burkhardt right after he dropped in the draft), and the great Johnny Football. A web search of Burkhardt suggests that he's a bit of a big mouth who represents prospective NFL players and NCAA football coaches, which is a questionable practice. I could see Hilton's contract negotiations being a bit more public than the team would like.

 

Anyway, long story short, I think these deals will get done sometime before any of these guys hit free agency in 2016.