LB Gerald Hodges visited Colts today

[RockThatBlue]

 

 

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter

Former Vikings and 49ers' LB Gerald Hodges visited Colts today, scheduled to visit Patriots tomorrow, Jaguars on Thursday, per source.

[backshoulderfade]

If we sign him this offseason is a slam dunk.

[IndyScribe]

Is he any good? Google'd him and at least he's young.

[PrincetonTiger]

Why is he still available 

[Boiler_Colt]

Had a pretty good season on a terrible team last year. At this point, couldn't hurt. Throw him in the mix and keep the best 4-5 guys at ILB. Get Hodges and Pasztor on the cheap and call it an offseason. Would be a good haul IMO.

[Larry Horseman]

Per PFF 10 sleeper free agents (https://www.profootballfocus.com/pro-10-sleeper-free-agents-who-could-bring-surprise-upside)/:

8. Gerald Hodges, LB

Players with a very small sample size of play are some of the riskiest free agents around, but they can also provide major upgrades for minor investments if the sample size is small enough to keep them under the radar of most teams. Gerald Hodges played 584 snaps for the 49ers this past season. It was actually his third straight season with between 500 and 600 snaps, but was the first in which he put it all together instead of just flashing one facet of his game. Hodges became a major factor in the run game for the 49ers, notched three sacks and nine total pressures on the blitz, and improved his play in coverage – dropping his passer rating allowed by more than 25 points over his previous career high. Hodges only really has one season of quality play to his name, but that season points to significant upside if a team can replicate that form.

 

Edit, PFF also had him 3 in FA LBs (https://www.profootballfocus.com/pro-top-10-linebackers-set-to-hit-free-agency/):

3. Gerald Hodges, San Francisco 49ers (82.4)

Acquired by the 49ers in a trade with the Vikings, Hodges struggled in his first year with the new team but took a big step in 2016. Hodges has graded well in run defense in his career and has posted solid grades the past two seasons rushing the passer when asked to do so. The concern for the former Penn State Nittany Lion are his inconsistencies in coverage, which will limit his ceiling. While he showed improvement in that area — yielding a career low 87.3 passer rating when targeted — he was also targeted a career-low 24 times in 2016 while still allowing 2 touchdowns.

 

[bababooey]

I mean just sign him to keep him away from the Jags and Pats at this point.

[Superman]

It's interesting to me how many front seven players they've brought in already, but they haven't added any veterans to the secondary. We're super thin at corner.

[Boiler_Colt]

4 minutes ago, Superman said:

It's interesting to me how many front seven players they've brought in already, but they haven't added any veterans to the secondary. We're super thin at corner.

I think that speaks to the fact that if corners are any good they get snatched up fast and for bigger money. You're more likely to find a bargain Inside Linebacker than a corner in free agency.

[Superman]

1 minute ago, Boiler_Colt said:

I think that speaks to the fact that if corners are any good they get snatched up fast and for bigger money. You're more likely to find a bargain Inside Linebacker than a corner in free agency.

 

There aren't any great players on the market still, but there are several bargain corners available right now. Jason McCourty just signed with the Browns. 

[PrincetonTiger]

6 minutes ago, Superman said:

It's interesting to me how many front seven players they've brought in already, but they haven't added any veterans to the secondary. We're super thin at corner.

The problem is that the vet corner has some form of a red mark on him

[Boiler_Colt]

1 minute ago, Superman said:

 

There aren't any great players on the market still, but there are several bargain corners available right now. Jason McCourty just signed with the Browns. 

Most of the guys are either old and in decline or injury prone though. At least the LB's are still young. Say if they break out, you can either sign them long term or let someone else sign them and get a comp pick. You're unlikely to get that with a 29-30 year old CB.

[Coltsman1788]

7 minutes ago, Superman said:

It's interesting to me how many front seven players they've brought in already, but they haven't added any veterans to the secondary. We're super thin at corner.

As it stands right now, any  injury to Vontae or Hooker causing either to miss significant time would likely be big trouble for our defense regardless of the number of LB's Ballard adds to the unit. 

[The Peytonator]

I thought he was signed by someone else a while ago, but I wanted either him or Minter from the beginning of the offseason. I would really like this move as I think LB is our weakest spot. Morrison and Walker are not answers to that problem, I liked Poundcake but he should be a role player, and Spence is a stopgap. I guess Hodges would be a stopgap too, but a pretty solid one I reckon. 

[indyagent17]

 

Gerald Hodges  #51 ILB

San Francisco 49ers | Official Team Site

Height: 6-2   Weight: 236   Age: 26

Born: 1/17/1991 Woodbury , NJ

College: Penn State

Experience: 5th season

High School: Paulsboro HS [NJ]

 

CAREER STATSMORE
Season	Team			Tackles					Interceptions						Fumbles
		G	GS	Comb	Total	Ast	Sck	SFTY	PDef	Int	Yds	Avg	Lng	TDs	FF
2016	San Francisco 49ers	15	12	83	55	28	3.0	--	2	2	27	13.5	21	0	1
2015	San Francisco 49ers	10	4	50	39	11	0.0	--	0	--	--	0.0	--	--	0
2015	Minnesota Vikings	4	3	20	14	6	0.0	--	1	--	--	0.0	--	--	0
2014	Minnesota Vikings	14	7	66	51	15	0.5	0	7	1	27	27.0	27T	1	0
2013	Minnesota Vikings	11	0	5	4	1	0.0	--	0	--	--	0.0	--	--	0
TOTAL				224	163	61	3.5	0	10	3	54	--	27	1	1

[csmopar]

11 minutes ago, Coltsman1788 said:

As it stands right now, any  injury to Vontae or Hooker causing either to miss significant time would likely be big trouble for our defense regardless of the number of LB's Ballard adds to the unit. 

Honestly, I see us picking some up late summer after the cuts start happening. Granted the chances of one being the next super star corner are slim to none, but my guess is we get some serviceable corners late 

[Coltsman1788]

1 minute ago, csmopar said:

Honestly, I see us picking some up late summer after the cuts start happening. Granted the chances of one being the next super star corner are slim to none, but my guess is we get some serviceable corners late 

Let's hope. We need some more depth there.

[UKColt13]

Dayyyyyum. That would be a serious ILB competition. 

 

If he makes that signing then that would be a great move.

 

 

[indyagent17]

I agree, this would really push some serious competition and this is something Grigson never really tried, Ballard is all about bringing the best out of players through competition 

[Superman]

39 minutes ago, Boiler_Colt said:

Most of the guys are either old and in decline or injury prone though. At least the LB's are still young. Say if they break out, you can either sign them long term or let someone else sign them and get a comp pick. You're unlikely to get that with a 29-30 year old CB.

 

There are several corners in the 27-28 year old range on the market. We haven't added any vets in the secondary, meanwhile, we're preaching competition and how important it is to live it. And I agree and like that approach, it just seems like we're not taking that approach at corner, specifically.

 

And I'm not complaining about the LBs, but at a certain point, you have to just roll with what you have and see what happens. There's a discrepancy between how they're adding vets for competition across the roster, and how they're handling corner. And maybe they feel like we have enough competitive players at the position already -- with the holdovers from last year, plus the rookies. I just don't like the holdovers, so I was hoping we'd add better players in free agency.

[Smonroe]

Any ideas what it would take to get him money wise?  He's the perfect candidate - young, yet with experience.

[TheRustonRifle#7]

44 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

There are several corners in the 27-28 year old range on the market. We haven't added any vets in the secondary, meanwhile, we're preaching competition and how important it is to live it. And I agree and like that approach, it just seems like we're not taking that approach at corner, specifically.

 

And I'm not complaining about the LBs, but at a certain point, you have to just roll with what you have and see what happens. There's a discrepancy between how they're adding vets for competition across the roster, and how they're handling corner. And maybe they feel like we have enough competitive players at the position already -- with the holdovers from last year, plus the rookies. I just don't like the holdovers, so I was hoping we'd add better players in free agency.

I agree, CB is definitely a need, imo?  At least some vet competition would be nice, but the June 1st cuts await...more as the pre-season progresses???????????

[Superman]

31 minutes ago, TheRustonRifle#7 said:

I agree, CB is definitely a need, imo?  At least some vet competition would be nice, but the June 1st cuts await...more as the pre-season progresses???????????

 

The date for cuts is May 9th, I think. That got changed a couple years back. But between that and camp cuts and whatnot, which Ballard keeps bringing up, I bet he has a group of guys on his radar.

 

Don't mean to sound anxious, you can't remake the entire defense in one offseason, but I just expected him to do something at corner. Like I said, that's flavored considerably by my dislike for guys like Melvin (not personally, I just don't think he's good). I'm excited about Wilson and Hairston, but they're rookies. 

 

We'll see. Still almost three months to camp.

[TheRustonRifle#7]

Just now, Superman said:

 

The date for cuts is May 9th, I think. That got changed a couple years back. But between that and camp cuts and whatnot, which Ballard keeps bringing up, I bet he has a group of guys on his radar.

 

Don't mean to sound anxious, you can remake the entire defense in one offseason, but I just expected him to do something at corner. Like I said, that's flavored considerably by my dislike for guys like Melvin (not personally, I just don't think he's good). I'm excited about Wilson and Hairston, but they're rookies. 

 

We'll see. Still almost three months to camp.

Lol, I may be mistaken by the original "June 1st cuts" but many current contracts are written that have that date as the accelerator date?  Either way, I would feel better with a vet or two pushing the current crop.

[Indyfan4life]

Would be good for us to sign him. Think he had a previous visit with the Seahawks, so he may be visiting everyone before making a final decision.

[NorthernBlue]

Even if he doesn't sign, I like the fact that every area of the defense has either some semblance talent or competition now.

 

The D line has lots of guys with talent, and lots of capable bodies for depth.

The linebacker core, whilst not as talented, has some good young pieces that should compete and provide decent depth.

The secondary, which to be honest doesn't have much depth, at least got a great injection of talent provided from the draft. 

 

And best of all, everyone on the defense is relatively young. Should be exciting seeing who makes it and who doesn't. Hopefully all this competition brings the best out of players.

[Superman]

8 minutes ago, TheRustonRifle#7 said:

Lol, I may be mistaken by the original "June 1st cuts" but many current contracts are written that have that date as the accelerator date?  Either way, I would feel better with a vet or two pushing the current crop.

 

Actually, that's my mistake. My mind defaulted to the comp pick date, but that's not what you're talking about. It used to be that June 1 was when you could sign free agents without them affecting your comp picks, but that got changed to May 9. Ballard would have been ignoring that this year, since the Colts won't be receiving any comp picks next year. 

 

It seems like June 1 is a popular date for options. I don't know if it actually is, or used to be and has changed. It's a point of negotiation, so some contracts will have February options, May, August, whatever, just some point in the offseason. But June has always been a hot market for lingering free agents. Now it's after May 9, which is why Hodges is getting more attention right now. 

[TheRustonRifle#7]

I wasn't very clear in my original post.  Thanks for understanding my clarification.

[MackAttack]

5 hours ago, IndyScribe said:

Is he any good? Google'd him and at least he's young.

Yeah he's good. Not great but has very good upside and could be great for the locker room

[ProblChld32]

5 hours ago, Superman said:

It's interesting to me how many front seven players they've brought in already, but they haven't added any veterans to the secondary. We're super thin at corner.

 

Thought that was interesting also surprised they didn't take a look at McCourty 

[colts52761]

Been waiting for the colts to bring him in

[akcolt]

6 hours ago, Superman said:

 

There are several corners in the 27-28 year old range on the market. We haven't added any vets in the secondary, meanwhile, we're preaching competition and how important it is to live it. And I agree and like that approach, it just seems like we're not taking that approach at corner, specifically.

 

And I'm not complaining about the LBs, but at a certain point, you have to just roll with what you have and see what happens. There's a discrepancy between how they're adding vets for competition across the roster, and how they're handling corner. And maybe they feel like we have enough competitive players at the position already -- with the holdovers from last year, plus the rookies. I just don't like the holdovers, so I was hoping we'd add better players in free agency.

I think Ballard might and you aren't going to be happy but he might like Melvin. He's 6'2 195lbs fits the profile. He could be fine with letting the young guys take a run at Butler and Morris for the slot. I'm guessing he has a pretty good feel for Milton. They drafted his teammate White last year. He has seen his share of Yellow Jacket tape. 

 

When I look at CB. I see pretty good blend. Davis and Butler are guys with a lot of experience.  Melvin and Morris have seen action over 3-4 years in the league. Then a couple of guys in their 2nd year with the team Milton and Mitchel. Then add in the drafted rookies Wilson and Hairston with a handful of UDFA's

 

CB group started with Davis one of if not our best player on D. That alone put it heads and shoulders above the LB's. We spend two draft picks there, one being a early day 2 pick and land a guy who could've went in the 1st IMO. CB has been handled differently but I don't think it's been neglected.

 

I dont have a problem if Melvin wins the #4 or #5 CB job. Davis and Wilson will start. Someone is going to win the slot job. It would be nice to see a return on Milton. I think Hairston is a keeper. 

 

I don't think we add anything unless there's an injury or a guy Ballard has marked pops free. Ballard wants to go young and isn't afraid to roll w/young guys

 

You nailed it Supe you aren't comfortable with the hold overs Melvin Morris Milton and Mitchel. All M's....look at that. 

 

The LB's were addressed in FA so it feels more certain in what we are getting. We had nothing at ILB and close to nothing at OLB. We certainly didn't have a guy who should be starting Sunday's. 

 

We had to add starters at all 4 LB's spots. We had to sign FA's We could end up with out a carry over at either group from last year. That's how bad it was. 

 

I can't say how happy I am we brought Hodges in. I hope we sign him. We would be looking pretty good on paper if we did. Sheard Simon Hodges and Spence is not too shabby. 

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

8 hours ago, Superman said:

 

...

There's a discrepancy between how they're adding vets for competition across the roster, and how they're handling corner. And maybe they feel like we have enough competitive players at the position already -- with the holdovers from last year, plus the rookies. I just don't like the holdovers, so I was hoping we'd add better players in free agency.

 

Good point. Since this draft was heavy with talented CB's, the plan might be to wait and see whether a decent quality vat CB will be cut from another team during the summer or when the final roster cuts are made. There are almost bound to happen some moves, and if you're not high on someone in FA now you might as well wait. At least that is how I read it.  

[krunk]

I'm not that concerned with the corner depth. I'm sure we will make an addition or two there, but I think we have a couple pieces. Butler is always an option at nickel. Hairston is in play there as well. Personally I think Melvin is a good depth piece. I'm really not that big on Darryl Morris. I'm expecting him to be released at some point and replaced. We still dont know what we have in Tevin Mitchel but hes got all the size and athleticism the coaches like. Also plays nickel and outside. I'm sure Ballard has a plan. Patience.

[ColtsBlitz]

15 hours ago, Superman said:

The date for cuts is May 9th, I think.....

Don't mean to sound anxious, you can't remake the entire defense in one offseason, but I just expected him to do something at corner. Like I said, that's flavored considerably by my dislike for guys like Melvin (not personally, I just don't think he's good). I'm excited about Wilson and Hairston, but they're rookies. 

I feel like Ballard drafted the two CB's to 'address' that position. My take on it is that he got a 2nd round corner, someone who has the measurables and a pretty good chance to start. We already had a few (subpar, I know) corners last year that stepped in to play. With film to watch, I feel like they will know improvement is needed, and the added competition through the draft will 'invoke work-ethic', but that is their choice (doubt they make the team if they don't though). Since we didn't really address the ILB position outside of A. Walker, I think Ballard feels he needs to get multiple bodies in to get strong competition and more players the coaches can work with and he can evaluate them and go from there. As you pointed out, he can't fix the entire defense in one offseason, but another thing I thought of: our schedule this year is many run-heavy teams and average quarterbacks. Maybe Ballard took that into consideration as well?  

 

Just took a look: imo, around 10 of the games we have will be run-first teams-

Titans(2), Texans(2), Cardinals, Rams, Seahawks, 49ers, Jags(2), Steelers are a strong run team, and Bills. That's 12 games of run-heavy teams in a passing league. I think Ballard's moves had intention upon our schedule too. 

[bababooey]

17 hours ago, Superman said:

 

There are several corners in the 27-28 year old range on the market. We haven't added any vets in the secondary, meanwhile, we're preaching competition and how important it is to live it. And I agree and like that approach, it just seems like we're not taking that approach at corner, specifically.

 

And I'm not complaining about the LBs, but at a certain point, you have to just roll with what you have and see what happens. There's a discrepancy between how they're adding vets for competition across the roster, and how they're handling corner. And maybe they feel like we have enough competitive players at the position already -- with the holdovers from last year, plus the rookies. I just don't like the holdovers, so I was hoping we'd add better players in free agency.

I just get worried that with training camp and preseason injuries we may end up needing to grab another Cromartie off the couch to give up tons of plays and take a ton of penalties.

[Boiler_Colt]

19 minutes ago, bababooey said:

I just get worried that with training camp and preseason injuries we may end up needing to grab another Cromartie off the couch to give up tons of plays and take a ton of penalties.

I think Antonio is still single handedly making sure there will always be "another Cromartie" available if you catch my drift. Up to 14 little Cromarties now.

[bababooey]

7 minutes ago, Boiler_Colt said:

I think Antonio is still single handedly making sure there will always be "another Cromartie" available if you catch my drift. Up to 14 little Cromarties now.

Yep, 3 kids POST vasectomy surgery....definitely the strongest swimmers in the league.

[Carlos Danger]

10 minutes ago, bababooey said:

Yep, 3 kids POST vasectomy surgery....definitely the strongest swimmers in the league.

My brother and I were both born after our dad had a vasectomy... I kind of agreed with him when he said that he should get his money back. 

[dgambill]

19 hours ago, Superman said:

It's interesting to me how many front seven players they've brought in already, but they haven't added any veterans to the secondary. We're super thin at corner.

Yep....that said we already have Davis, Geathers, Butler, and Green...and they invested heavily in the draft with two corners and a safety. We already had a depth corner in Melvin and we added several udfa's to the roster as well. It's clear that Ballard thought this draft was heavily loaded in secondary talent and is leveraging that against using FA money on the front 7 where it was harder to find talent. He did say he wanted to build in the trenches so he has kept to that work. Invest money up front and let Pagano and company coach up young secondary depth. Makes sense to me. No matter how good that secondary is (see Denver) if the front 7 can't stop the run your going to get manhandled. I think we all agree its more effective to build a strong front that gets after the qb and creates havoc in the backfield and get guys to cover for a shorter period or put them in position to cover up weaknesses in the secondary then even if you have great secondary but no one to get after the ball at the line of scrimmage it just eliminates that strength.

 

Don't get me wrong...would love another stud corner to lock down the opposite side but he has put the emphasis on getting better at the line of scrimmage. Also MLB is about the only spot he hasn't erased Grigson from on this defense honestly lol. I agree we are a little thin in experience out there but I think Ballard is ok with letting these young guys get on the field and learn and adding veteran to corner would just take away reps from the young guns. I think if we saw injuries in camp or preseason he could still very well address it like Grigson did with Cromartie last year but I think for the money....investing in the front 7 pays a bigger dividend for us. He may also not like whats on the market too (he has a definite affinity for tall corners its obvious). Maybe a late pre-season cut will catch his eye...maybe these guys are holding out for multiyear contracts and he wants a one year guy that he can get late in the offseason. You bring up a good point...I just think he sees that the draft was the best place to add secondary competition and FA was for the draft. I haven't followed Hodges much to know if he is an upgrade at MLB for us but honestly if he has to feel like our LBs are the weak link to this defense.

 

Edit: Also Davis doesn't need competition...he is in a contract year lol.