Colts Don't seem interested in Wilfork

[amfootball]

Wilfork is old and IMO is pretty washed up.  I don't think he's any better than Chapman as of right now, and Chapman still has room for improvement where Wilfork is on the decline.  Hughes was a project when we drafted him, he improved between year 1 and 2 and should continue to improve.  He is massive (our largest player) and very athletic -- he seemed to really start understanding his role and get his size and athleticism to translate into football skills last year.  Kerr did quite well as a rookie -- again he has room to improve, but there is no reason to think he won't as he is so young.  I think the biggest part of the equation is Art Jones should be healthy, which should result in drastic improvement of our D-Line by itself.  People also are often forgetting to mention Langford, who is an upgrade over RJF and (IMO) Redding.  If the season started today and all our guys were fully healthy, I think we'd have a better line than last year.  That said, I would still like to see us add another player or 2 to the mix.

 

There is plenty of time left in FA and we haven't gotten to the draft yet -- so I'm not convinced we are done making moves on the D-Line, but it isn't like Grigs or Pagano is going to come out to the media or any reporter and say "we think our line is trash and the players are terrible" -- of course they are going to say positive things about the players on this team.  Anyway, Wilfork will either find out soon that no team is going to pay for whatever he is asking, or some team will sign him for a high price and be terribly disappointed -- maybe as negotiations continue, we will jump into the bidding process if his price comes down... or maybe Grigs/Pags don't want an expensive and very temporary player at this position (which is kind of what Redding/RJF were -- temporary veterans to improve what we had but they were not the long-term answer) -- they seem to be doing a good job of adding veterans at certain spots but without making this team a bunch of guys that will be here for 1-3 years and retire when Luck is in the prime of his career -- there may be more to just Wilfork asking too much, maybe they want to build something that will develop into a continuously improving unit (Build the Monster) with young players that will be around for a while.

 

 

Yes, Hughes did just a few weeks prior to the season starting.... http://www.indystar.com/story/colts-insider/2014/08/24/colts-defensive-lineman-montori-hughes-daughter-dies/14528581/

I agree with you on Wilfork which is probably why he went to Houston. He can be more effective on their Dline with that talent. What is head scratching though from a Colts perspective is why Grigson has not added anyone to the Dline. The guys out there aside from Suh were more than affordable and would have been much needed additions to your team. Is it your opinion that he is going to solely try to upgrade through the draft as that seems risky given how often picks don't work out and the time it takes to develop rookies into impactful starting players. What remaining FAs do you want him to target?

[chrisfarley]

No cap room.  (or very little).  It's a long time till the draft, but we'll just have to be patient.  Grigs is in neutral mode.

[ColtsFanMikeC]

I agree with you on Wilfork which is probably why he went to Houston. He can be more effective on their Dline with that talent. What is head scratching though from a Colts perspective is why Grigson has not added anyone to the Dline. The guys out there aside from Suh were more than affordable and would have been much needed additions to your team. Is it your opinion that he is going to solely try to upgrade through the draft as that seems risky given how often picks don't work out and the time it takes to develop rookies into impactful starting players. What remaining FAs do you want him to target?

 

I think Langford was a very good signing.  Not as talented as Suh, but an upgrade over RJF and possibly even Redding.  Langford, with his size at 6'6" 313 lbs, should be able to rotate around the D-Line.  He can pressure the QB a bit better than several other bigger name DL that were available, IMO, including Wilfork and Knighton and comparable to Fairley. 

 

I think Langford remains an under-rated/under-appreciated signing to most.  With that said, there are plenty of FAs still around whose prices should drop as we get further along into FA.  I think Grigs is starting to build the DL for the future -- with young guys like Montori Hughes and Chapman plus Art Jones we have a pretty solid young core -- that isn't even accounting for Quarles or Kerr (who I think can improve and be good in this league, but would like to see us bring in someone to challenge them for a roster spot).  That said, it can't hurt to bring in a player to upgrade or to just be a very competitive camp body for the right price.

 

Some of the more intriguing names to me include: BJ Raji, Chris Canty, Andre Fluellen.  Canty would be nothing more than a fill-in for a year or 2, while the other two are gambles but if nothing else could improve camp competition.  Pat Sims is the only other name I see as far as DL who are still unsigned who kind of intrigues me, and Greg Hardy (though he would probably be more of an OLB or hybrid OLB/DE in our system).  Really, after Suh, I don't think any of the 'big name' DL are worth big bucks -- we are probably better off letting things settle down, letting some other UFAs asking price drop and maybe even waiting to see what happens around June 1 cut time than we are breaking the bank with players who at this point are not much more than names.  Plus, this draft is pretty deep on the DL -- there is always risk involved with the draft, but IMO it isn't much worse than FA (IMO, pretty much every player on the DL would be a risk in our system after Suh -- I know some were high on Fairley, but I don't think he'll be near as productive when he isn't reaping the benefits of Suh being doubled or tripled alongside him), plus it is cheaper and the players are younger.

[Mudbone]

I'm fine with passing on Wilfork. Never been a fan of his character. Remember when he used jam his finger in player's eyes?