2018 Free Agency predictions/wishlist

[BProland85]

I didn't see a thread for 2018 free agency so I thought I'd spark some conversation regarding this. I listed a few players I have on my wishlist to sign, and then I also have a few players I predict Ballard may go after, where he will have plenty of cap space to sign some talent.

 

Wishlist

WR Jarvis Landry - I hope this guy is brought in to be a quality slot WR for Andrew, something this team has been lacking. I'd much rather sign Landry long term over Moncrief at this point. Landry would also bring some toughness to the WR core. 

 

 DT Timmy Jernigan - Jernigan would provide even more talent to a DL that could be a big strength of this team going forward. A rotation of Jernigan, Anderson, and Ridgeway would be nasty DT/DE combo with Hankins, Woods, and Stewart manning the NT spot. Hankins could also play some DT if needed but I feel he is best suited at NT. 

 

CB Trumaine Johnson - Long athletic corner, which Ballard loves, who is also good at taking the ball away. He had 7 ints in 2015. He might cost a bit, but Ballard could easily afford him after letting Vontae walk. 

 

OT Austin Pasztor - An underrated swing OT, he would be a great addition for depth as a player who could step in and start a few games if needed on occasion. 

 

Predictions

 CB Trumaine Johnson - I do feel of the players above, Johnson has among the most potential to get brought in if he decides to test FA. He would come in and instantly be the #1 corner allowing Wilson to play the sidekick role, and a good one at that. Ballard would love having 2 tall athletic corners like Johnson and Wilson. 

 

OG/C Zach Fulton - He has KC ties to Ballard, and would be a good depth interior OL player to have in case of injury. (I believe Ballard may address OT via the draft)

 

WR Marquise Lee - Just a hunch prediction here. I do believe Ballard will let Moncrief walk, unless he is willing to sign for a lower short term deal. 

 

Extensions

OG Jack Mewhort - Still the best OG the Colts have, so I could see him being brought back on a team friendly deal. 

CB Darius Butler - Brought back mainly as a trusted vet who can play the slot until Hairston is fully ready to take over. Also helps in case Hooker gets injured. 

 

I'll update this as we get closer to the offseason.

 

[MPStack]

I hate to see the Colt resign Mewhort based on potential, which translates to more money. He`s been hurt about as much as he`s played. I`m sure there are varying opinions on Mewhort, but the Colts seem to struggle with injuries and he has a history of it. I would not overpay for him nor think the Colts should. 

[Finball]

Not into predictions, so will just make my early wishlist.

 

RB: Crowell or Hyde

WR: Sign one of Watkins/Adams/Richardson/A-Rob/Lee/Jeffery.. I guess I'm ok with extending Moncrief too if price tag is reasonable.

OG: Extend Mewhort or sign Justin Pugh

 

DE: Jernigan or Easley.. Wilkerson will probably be cut too.. I'd be interested on him if it's a 1 yr deal.

CB: Tru Johnson or Malcolm Butler.. would be ok with EJ Gaines, Nevin Lawson, Aaron Colvin or Brashad Breeland if the first 2 are too expensive or don't want to come here.

 

 

7 hours ago, MPStack said:

I hate to see the Colt resign Mewhort based on potential, which translates to more money. He`s been hurt about as much as he`s played. I`m sure there are varying opinions on Mewhort, but the Colts seem to struggle with injuries and he has a history of it. I would not overpay for him nor think the Colts should. 

 

With the state of offensive lines around the league, I think it's pretty likely that one needs to overpay to keep a good olineman. Mewhort will be a rich man next March. Whether the money comes from the Colts or someone else, remains to be seen. The long-term health of his knee does concern me but FA options at OL are going to be pretty bad next year.

[Boiler_Colt]

If they hit free agency I think Justin Pugh and Trumaine Johnson are must target guys. I agree with the OP that Jarvis Landry would fit nice here but he'll likely want more money than T.Y. Mewhort is a mystery does he deserve a huge contract? No, but can we afford to let him go?

 

A shame that there are no left tackles or pass rushers that are really good this year. I think those are the two biggest needs. I think if you locked up Mewhort and got Pugh, switching Castonzo to RT and getting a legit LT would make the line pretty dang good.

[DaColts85]

The Giants have a worse line than us and Pugh is one of their key guys, why would he hit the market? 

 

I can see Trumaine hitting FA and like I said last year, if available I want him.  He fits the mold that Ballard likes.  Big and aggressive but he will be expensive.

 

Mewhort will need an extension sometime soon, which is very doubtful, before he hits the FA market and see's the dollar signs.  Teams will definitely be trying to take him away by throwing money at him.  Not sure what price Ballard has in mind though.  I would look at something similar to Josh Sitton who signed with the Bears.  Pretty good Guard and Mewhort needs a short term to evaluate the knee and injuries.

 

My wish list would be:

1. Trumaine Johnson - CB  Would be the perfect replacement for VD  (4yr/~50mil)

2. Jeremy Hill - RB  Great 1, 2 punch with Mack  (3yr/~10mil)

3. Josh Kline - OG  Has played well in TN and would be a good fit, not sure Titans will let him go but they have to sign Spain as well  (3yr/~20mil)

4. Extend Mewhort if he does team friendly deal...probably wouldn't but who knows  (3yr/~21mil similar to Josh Sitton last year and see if he stays healthy)

 

Then draft a LT and go heavy on D again.

[Finball]

I forgot about Kline. One of the rare players who has done better outside of NE. If the market really explodes, there are too big concerns about Mewhorts health and/or Pugh is re-signed by the Giants, he'd be in my next tier of targets. Not a great player but not a liability either.

 

Giants probably want to keep Pugh but they aren't exactly swimming in cap space and Pugh has shown versatility by playing decently at RT too. He should be very sought out player. If I were him, I'd hit the FA to see what's out there for the best FA olineman in a very oline-needy league. Franchise tag number for olineman will probably be in the range of 15M too.

[Boiler_Colt]

1 hour ago, DaColts85 said:

The Giants have a worse line than us and Pugh is one of their key guys, why would he hit the market? 

 

I can see Trumaine hitting FA and like I said last year, if available I want him.  He fits the mold that Ballard likes.  Big and aggressive but he will be expensive.

 

Mewhort will need an extension sometime soon, which is very doubtful, before he hits the FA market and see's the dollar signs.  Teams will definitely be trying to take him away by throwing money at him.  Not sure what price Ballard has in mind though.  I would look at something similar to Josh Sitton who signed with the Bears.  Pretty good Guard and Mewhort needs a short term to evaluate the knee and injuries.

 

My wish list would be:

1. Trumaine Johnson - CB  Would be the perfect replacement for VD  (4yr/~50mil)

2. Jeremy Hill - RB  Great 1, 2 punch with Mack  (3yr/~10mil)

3. Josh Kline - OG  Has played well in TN and would be a good fit, not sure Titans will let him go but they have to sign Spain as well  (3yr/~20mil)

4. Extend Mewhort if he does team friendly deal...probably wouldn't but who knows  (3yr/~21mil similar to Josh Sitton last year and see if he stays healthy)

 

Then draft a LT and go heavy on D again.

 

Pugh might not hit the market but he has already stated he wants top guard money. Giants have OK cap space but if Pugh gets 12 mil, that would eat almost half of what they have available. Their center Richburg is also a FA. Not impossible that he could hit the market but like you said, Giants probably want to keep him. Pugh holds all the leverage in that scenario. Bengals had a bad line last year and still let Zeitler and Whitworth get away.

[Valpo2004]

Wow according to overthecap we have 72.8 M in cap space for 2018 most in the league.  This sould give Ballard ample opportunity to put his mark on the team.

 

RB: Hyde - 2 years 8 M - 2 M Guranteed  

G: Extend Mewhort - 4 years/36 M - 10 M Guaranteed, Xavier Sua-Filo - 3 years 14 M - 4 M Guaranteed

WR: Watkins 3 Years 18 M - 5 M Guaranteed

ILB Kevin Minter 3 years 15 M - 5 M guaranteed, Exend Bostic - 2 years 3.5 M - .75 guaranteed

CB: Butler 3 years 35 M - 12 M Guaranteed

K: Prater 3 years 10.5M - 5 M Guaranteed

 

72.8 Cap space

-4 M - (Hyde)

-9 M - (Mewhort)

-4.6M - (Sua-Filo)

-6M - (Watkins)

-5M - (Minter)

-1.75 (Bostic)

-11.6M - (Butler)

-3.5 (Prater)

 

27.35 M in Cap Space remaining

- .6 M (Swoope -ERFA)

-.54 M (Edwin Jackson - ERFA)

 

26.21 M in Cap space remaining

 

 

 

 

[DaColts85]

44 minutes ago, Boiler_Colt said:

 

Pugh might not hit the market but he has already stated he wants top guard money. Giants have OK cap space but if Pugh gets 12 mil, that would eat almost half of what they have available. Their center Richburg is also a FA. Not impossible that he could hit the market but like you said, Giants probably want to keep him. Pugh holds all the leverage in that scenario. Bengals had a bad line last year and still let Zeitler and Whitworth get away.

I agree that anything can happen.  It is just my opinion, and again there are multiple examples of both sides happening.  Cincy is a good example of what not to do...lol  

[bigt]

12 hours ago, DaColts85 said:

The Giants have a worse line than us and Pugh is one of their key guys, why would he hit the market? 

 

I can see Trumaine hitting FA and like I said last year, if available I want him.  He fits the mold that Ballard likes.  Big and aggressive but he will be expensive.

 

Mewhort will need an extension sometime soon, which is very doubtful, before he hits the FA market and see's the dollar signs.  Teams will definitely be trying to take him away by throwing money at him.  Not sure what price Ballard has in mind though.  I would look at something similar to Josh Sitton who signed with the Bears.  Pretty good Guard and Mewhort needs a short term to evaluate the knee and injuries.

 

My wish list would be:

1. Trumaine Johnson - CB  Would be the perfect replacement for VD  (4yr/~50mil)

2. Jeremy Hill - RB  Great 1, 2 punch with Mack  (3yr/~10mil)

3. Josh Kline - OG  Has played well in TN and would be a good fit, not sure Titans will let him go but they have to sign Spain as well  (3yr/~20mil)

4. Extend Mewhort if he does team friendly deal...probably wouldn't but who knows  (3yr/~21mil similar to Josh Sitton last year and see if he stays healthy)

 

Then draft a LT and go heavy on D again.

 

[bigt]

I live in Nashville and everyone down here thinks Kline is the Titans weak link.  I tried to temper everyone's expectations of Schwenke as well since he was benched in TN.  I think we should just let Ballard build through the draft.  Mewhort is hurt too much.  Castonzo is the best LT we have now, but he is getting worse every year.   The only guys I am high on right now are Kelly, Haeg, Good, and Bond.  All young ascending talents.  I'd be high on Mewhort as well if he stayed healthy like Castonzo.  I'd rather see the money go toward more elite defensive players who are rarely on injury reports.  Jmho of course.  We need to rid ourselves of all the injury prone players and replace them with iron men in hopes they can start changing the perceived soft culture of the Colts.

[akcolt]

Without digging into 2018 FA'/s and not knowing who will step up on our roster. 

 

Andrew Norwell LG

Jordan Matthews WR 

 

 

[MPStack]

6 minutes ago, akcolt said:

Without digging into 2018 FA'/s and not knowing who will step up on our roster. 

 

Andrew Norwell LG

Jordan Matthews WR 

 

 

I think Matthews would be an excellent 1-2 combination with Hilton. IMO Moncrief has teased us with his potential, but he`s just too inconsistent. I like the other FA WR from the Jags as a possibility as well.  

[BProland85]

6 hours ago, bigt said:

I live in Nashville and everyone down here thinks Kline is the Titans weak link.  I tried to temper everyone's expectations of Schwenke as well since he was benched in TN.  I think we should just let Ballard build through the draft.  Mewhort is hurt too much.  Castonzo is the best LT we have now, but he is getting worse every year.   The only guys I am high on right now are Kelly, Haeg, Good, and Bond.  All young ascending talents.  I'd be high on Mewhort as well if he stayed healthy like Castonzo.  I'd rather see the money go toward more elite defensive players who are rarely on injury reports.  Jmho of course.  We need to rid ourselves of all the injury prone players and replace them with iron men in hopes they can start changing the perceived soft culture of the Colts.

 

Is there a decent Colts fan gathering for games in Nashville? I too live here. I haven't come across a sports bar with many fans yet. 

[bigt]

Not that I know of.  I have a friend of mine who has tickets to the Titans Seahawks game at 3 pm.  I told him we needed to get downtown early so I can get good seats at a sports bar to watch the Colts Brownies game.  I'll let you know what bar it is.

[BProland85]

6 hours ago, bigt said:

Not that I know of.  I have a friend of mine who has tickets to the Titans Seahawks game at 3 pm.  I told him we needed to get downtown early so I can get good seats at a sports bar to watch the Colts Brownies game.  I'll let you know what bar it is.

 

Sounds good thanks! Colts fans seem to show up to the games down in Nashville so there has to be a group of us watching games somewhere!

[bigt]

Dave and Busters, lol.  That's where my friend wants to go.

 

[Blueblood23]

On 9/21/2017 at 1:08 PM, Valpo2004 said:

Wow according to overthecap we have 72.8 M in cap space for 2018 most in the league.  This sould give Ballard ample opportunity to put his mark on the team.

 

RB: Hyde - 2 years 8 M - 2 M Guranteed  

G: Extend Mewhort - 4 years/36 M - 10 M Guaranteed, Xavier Sua-Filo - 3 years 14 M - 4 M Guaranteed

WR: Watkins 3 Years 18 M - 5 M Guaranteed

ILB Kevin Minter 3 years 15 M - 5 M guaranteed, Exend Bostic - 2 years 3.5 M - .75 guaranteed

CB: Butler 3 years 35 M - 12 M Guaranteed

K: Prater 3 years 10.5M - 5 M Guaranteed

 

72.8 Cap space

-4 M - (Hyde)

-9 M - (Mewhort)

-4.6M - (Sua-Filo)

-6M - (Watkins)

-5M - (Minter)

-1.75 (Bostic)

-11.6M - (Butler)

-3.5 (Prater)

 

27.35 M in Cap Space remaining

- .6 M (Swoope -ERFA)

-.54 M (Edwin Jackson - ERFA)

 

26.21 M in Cap space remaining

 

 

 

 

9 million for Mehort? WOW!

[Valpo2004]

21 hours ago, Blueblood23 said:

9 million for Mehort? WOW!

 

That would only put him at tied for #9 right now among all guards.  

 

If you look at overthecap.com and count up both left and right guard contracts (they separate them for some reason) you will find that 7 different guards in the league are making 10 mil + APY.  Another is making 9.5 Mil

 

He's a young player without a long injury history.  I simply can't imagine him signing anywhere for less then 8 M per year.  And I wouldn't be surprised if he hits 10 M either.

 

That's what the market is right now.  

 

[Blueblood23]

1 hour ago, Valpo2004 said:

 

That would only put him at tied for #9 right now among all guards.  

 

If you look at overthecap.com and count up both left and right guard contracts (they separate them for some reason) you will find that 7 different guards in the league are making 10 mil + APY.  Another is making 9.5 Mil

 

He's a young player without a long injury history.  I simply can't imagine him signing anywhere for less then 8 M per year.  And I wouldn't be surprised if he hits 10 M either.

 

That's what the market is right now.  

 

Then I would let him go. He is not an elite player at his position. He is starting to break down with his injury last year and missing several practices already this year. I would rather bring in a free agent for him if available.

[Valpo2004]

2 hours ago, Blueblood23 said:

Then I would let him go. He is not an elite player at his position. He is starting to break down with his injury last year and missing several practices already this year. I would rather bring in a free agent for him if available.

 

Good luck finding a FA in 2018 that is under 30, doesn't have a long injury history and is better then Mewhort.  

 

Pugh might fit, but if he get's extended that's pretty much about it.  

 

Sorry but you have to pay to keep good talent.  Salary Cap keeps expanding.  Those numbers keep going up and up.  A deal that might have sounded insane 5 years ago is now the market value.  

[DaColts85]

3 minutes ago, Valpo2004 said:

 

Good luck finding a FA in 2018 that is under 30, doesn't have a long injury history and is better then Mewhort.  

 

Pugh might fit, but if he get's extended that's pretty much about it.  

 

Sorry but you have to pay to keep good talent.  Salary Cap keeps expanding.  Those numbers keep going up and up.  A deal that might have sounded insane 5 years ago is now the market value.  

Mewhort might get 10 but going in FA and looking at Pugh you are going to spend close to 12+ IMO.  You are right, you are going to have to pay players.  Cap space is increasing and so will contracts it is simple economics.

[Dark Superman]

On 9/21/2017 at 2:08 PM, Valpo2004 said:

Wow according to overthecap we have 72.8 M in cap space for 2018 most in the league.  This sould give Ballard ample opportunity to put his mark on the team.

 

RB: Hyde - 2 years 8 M - 2 M Guranteed  

G: Extend Mewhort - 4 years/36 M - 10 M Guaranteed, Xavier Sua-Filo - 3 years 14 M - 4 M Guaranteed

WR: Watkins 3 Years 18 M - 5 M Guaranteed

ILB Kevin Minter 3 years 15 M - 5 M guaranteed, Exend Bostic - 2 years 3.5 M - .75 guaranteed

CB: Butler 3 years 35 M - 12 M Guaranteed

K: Prater 3 years 10.5M - 5 M Guaranteed

 

72.8 Cap space

-4 M - (Hyde)

-9 M - (Mewhort)

-4.6M - (Sua-Filo)

-6M - (Watkins)

-5M - (Minter)

-1.75 (Bostic)

-11.6M - (Butler)

-3.5 (Prater)

 

27.35 M in Cap Space remaining

- .6 M (Swoope -ERFA)

-.54 M (Edwin Jackson - ERFA)

 

26.21 M in Cap space remaining

 

 

I don't want Watkins. Moncrief if better than Watkins if we have Luck throwing him the ball.

And we should move on from Butler. He's getting up there in age and I don't like him at safety.

 

 

[Valpo2004]

18 minutes ago, Blue Shoe Savior 12 said:

 

 

Let me clarify something.  I'm talking about Malcom Butler.  He is currently the Pat's #1 CB.  Not Darius Butler.

 

I disagree strongly on Watkins and Moncrief.  

 

Watkins has 2,653 career yards playing mostly with Kyle Orton and Tyrod Taylor.

 

Donte Moncrief has 1,596 career yards drawing coverage playing mostly with Andrew Luck and Matt Hasselbeck.

 

They where both drafted in the same year.  

 

Watkins has been a disappointment for his draft status, but I'd put him above Moncrief.  He's gotten more yards with worse quarterbacks.  

 

I'd like to get a #2 guy who produces.  Moncrief just hasn't done that. 

[Boiler_Colt]

DeMarcus Lawrence making himself some money this year and in tonight's game. He might be primed to be the top pass rusher on the market next year.