How I Think Free Agency Will Plan Out

[SubZero]

Colts are also 33mil under cap (which is very good most teams are on average 22 under cap or some are even over cap).

Re-sign:

Jamaal Anderson: He is a good runstopper and can supply a decent pass rush, and we could resign him for cheap.

Robert Mathis: I think he can transition to a 3-4 OLB, and IMO he is better than Freeney at the moment.

Reggie Wayne: I dont think it will cost big money and he is still the best reciver on the roster. Wayne also loves indy amd would be glad to come back.

Jacob Tamme: Good player who can block and catch i think he will be retained.

Notable Resigns: Mike Pollak, Philip Wheeler, Dan Orlovsky, Quinn Ojinnaka

Cuts/Release:

Peyton Manning: Unless his contract is reconstructed i honestly dont see them keeping him. Dont get me wrong i want him but i dont think irsay will keep him. Taking a 28 mil cap hit will hurt bad and his health is still uncertain.

Pierre Garcon: He turned down a 5 year contract. I dont think its money i think he want to be on a better team.

Jeff Saturday: He will either leave or retired. I can see him staying unless Manning does. Im putting him here cause im leaning toward him leaving but anything can happen.

Gary Brackett: Brackett is a good player but to small for a 3-4 LB. He is due a good amount of money which would be saved if he was cut.

Notable Cuts/Release: Tyler Brayton, Ernie Sims, Anthony Gonzalaz, Eric Foster, Ryan Deim

Signs:

Antonio Garay: For success in a 3-4 you meed a good NT and Garay would be perfect. He is a good run stopper and he is a big body to plug in at NT.

Harry Douglas: He would replace Garcon perfectly and could be signed for cheap.

Andre Gurode: He still is a great center and he would help as a short term option while we find saturdays successor.

[21isSuperman]

I think Pollak is in line to take over the center position after Saturday leaves. I don't think we will need to bring in Gurode. And I don't want Wayne back; he has been a baby this whole offseason and I don't even think he wants to be back

[ruksak]

Does your forecast change any if Manning is retained?

WHEN Manning and Irsay get this figured out and the contract gets restructured, that green-lights Saturday and Wayne to desire to stay in a familiar system. The question is, will the money be available for them?

Either way I can't wait to see our Colts running a different defensive scheme. Gonna be a fun year for us Colts fans.

[Smonroe]

Yeah, all of this hinges on 18. But I'm not sure if I can agree with some of the statements made in the original post.

I don't think we can afford what other teams will give Wayne. We don't know the Garcon offer, five years can be meaningless if there's not guaranteed money.

Most of all, there are a lot of cap conditions and conditional reliefs that we aren't taking into account.

[BProland85]

Are we really 33 million under the cap BEFORE we release Manning? If thats the case I could see us being able to bring back Mathis and still be able to get some bigger name Free Agents if we wanted.

[supremecoltsfan300]

If no Manning then no Wayne. Colts wont deal out money for Wayne (the amount he wants) if no Manning. We probably keep Mathis because our new coach wants him. Saturday is gone. We might work something out with garcon. Tamme is gone too probably if he wants a pay upgrade. He's easily replaceable with another te in the draft.

[The Peytonator]

I like Anderson resigned. Wheeler needs to be resigned. Pollak is our future center. I'd franchise Mathis, just to see how he does as a stand up rusher. Then next offseason we decide on him or Freeney. With Tamme he might want a significant raise. I like him but he ain't no gamebreaker. Easily replaceable in the draft. It really looks like we may be without Wayne and Garcon next year. Although if we keep Big P, they may try to keep at least one of those guys.

I'd love the Antonio Garay signing. I have heard nothing of Hugh Douglass, but he sure hasn't had much production so far. Sure he'd be cheap but I doubt he'd be anything more than a 5th string special teamer. Gurode's best days are behind him and Saturday's replacement just needs to be resigned....hopefully relatively cheap since he's been benched more than once.

[SubZero]

Does your forecast change any if Manning is retained?

WHEN Manning and Irsay get this figured out and the contract gets restructured, that green-lights Saturday and Wayne to desire to stay in a familiar system. The question is, will the money be available for them?

Either way I can't wait to see our Colts running a different defensive scheme. Gonna be a fun year for us Colts fans.

Yes it definatly does. If Manning comes back then I think Garcon and Saturday would be more willing to come back. And wayne would be a definate yes to stay.

[UndecidedFrog]

Yes it definatly does. If Manning comes back then I think Garcon and Saturday would be more willing to come back. And wayne would be a definate yes to stay.

And with all this, you think we have enough cap space to accommodate all these players?

[Balzer40]

Colts are also 33mil under cap (which is very good most teams are on average 22 under cap or some are even over cap).

Re-sign:

Reggie Wayne: I dont think it will cost big money and he is still the best reciver on the roster. Wayne also loves indy amd would be glad to come back.

You don't think Wayne will cost big money? This will be his retirement contract and he'll be all about the money(espesially guaranteed money). I don't think there is a chance that Reggie will be back.

[UndecidedFrog]

Colts are also 33mil under cap (which is very good most teams are on average 22 under cap or some are even over cap).

Re-sign:

Jamaal Anderson: He is a good runstopper and can supply a decent pass rush, and we could resign him for cheap.

Robert Mathis: I think he can transition to a 3-4 OLB, and IMO he is better than Freeney at the moment.

Reggie Wayne: I dont think it will cost big money and he is still the best reciver on the roster. Wayne also loves indy amd would be glad to come back.

Jacob Tamme: Good player who can block and catch i think he will be retained.

Notable Resigns: Mike Pollak, Philip Wheeler, Dan Orlovsky, Quinn Ojinnaka

Cuts/Release:

Peyton Manning: Unless his contract is reconstructed i honestly dont see them keeping him. Dont get me wrong i want him but i dont think irsay will keep him. Taking a 28 mil cap hit will hurt bad and his health is still uncertain.

Pierre Garcon: He turned down a 5 year contract. I dont think its money i think he want to be on a better team.

Jeff Saturday: He will either leave or retired. I can see him staying unless Manning does. Im putting him here cause im leaning toward him leaving but anything can happen.

Gary Brackett: Brackett is a good player but to small for a 3-4 LB. He is due a good amount of money which would be saved if he was cut.

Notable Cuts/Release: Tyler Brayton, Ernie Sims, Anthony Gonzalaz, Eric Foster, Ryan Deim

Signs:

Antonio Garay: For success in a 3-4 you meed a good NT and Garay would be perfect. He is a good run stopper and he is a big body to plug in at NT.

Harry Douglas: He would replace Garcon perfectly and could be signed for cheap.

Andre Gurode: He still is a great center and he would help as a short term option while we find saturdays successor.

If you can quantify your assumptions on what it will take to re-sign or sign these FAs in terms of:

a) # years

b) Upfront bonus money

c) year by year salary for each year of their contract

I can do your mock cap to see where you land.

Please post your assumptions here:

http://forums.colts.com/index.php?/topic/5314-the-cap/

So far, 2 posters have taken me up on this and both have come to realize how tight the cap really is.

[coltsfanmilyman]

I think Pollak is in line to take over the center position after Saturday leaves. I don't think we will need to bring in Gurode. And I don't want Wayne back; he has been a baby this whole offseason and I don't even think he wants to be back

Im sorry I don't live in Indiana so I'm not privy to much out here on the west coast but what has he done or said this offseason? The last thing I remember hearing was the night of the NFLN game against Houston. During that Interview my perception was that he wanted to stay and would love to finish his career here but understands that it is still ultimately a business? Did I miss something?

[Wyld1]

I'm not trying to be disrespectful but Pollack is a FA and has shown nothing other than being an acceptable backup at guard? Why do some think he will "magicaly(sp?)" morph into our next Center? Btw, I know he was a Center at ASU and he wasn't even the backup to Saturday at that position in his tenure? Was he waiting for his chance?

Edit: It seems as if he was he backup last year on ESPN and NFL.Coms sites but I still have litle to no faith in him. Geez remember when Saturday went down Richards started!

[CS Colts Fan]

Wyld1.. we picked up AQ Shipley.. he was a center for Penn State his stats look good the one bad I saw was his arms are short and people can get around him, but he is good for run blocking and pass protection?? For what it's worth... came from the eagles.. maybe Grigson see's something in him?

[Wyld1]

Wyld1.. we picked up AQ Shipley.. he was a center for Penn State his stats look good the one bad I saw was his arms are short and people can get around him, but he is good for run blocking and pass protection?? For what it's worth... came from the eagles.. maybe Grigson see's something in him?

I remember the pick up...plus A.Q, maybe Anthony Quinn Shipley????? Sounds like a keeper ;)

[CS Colts Fan]

he could be.. on the eagles board they were wanting them to play him.. said he dominated on a number of occasions

[Wyld1]

he could be.. on the eagles board they were wanting them to play him.. said he dominated on a number of occasions

Thanks for the info!

[CS Colts Fan]

I still think Grigs and Pag want Saturday and Freeney and Mathis back... center is Key for the OL.. especially one as good as Sat.

[Wyld1]

I still think Grigs and Pag want Saturday and Freeney and Mathis back... center is Key for the OL.. especially one as good as Sat.

I agree and hope Saturday comes back for one more year.

[Coltswarriors]

I agree and hope Saturday comes back for one more year.

Someone posted a thread of this site earlier today and said that Saturday wanted to play and that Luck would benefit from a vet center.

And last week/earlier this week Pagano said he'd love to have Saturday back.

Don't know how accurate all of this info is, just what I've heard/read.

[Wyld1]

Someone posted a thread of this site earlier today and said that Saturday wanted to play and that Luck would benefit from a vet center.

And last week/earlier this week Pagano said he'd love to have Saturday back.

Don't know how accurate all of this info is, just what I've heard/read.

I read both and hope for the same. Regardless of the QB, Pollak is not the answer a Center, imvho.

[supremecoltsfan300]

Someone posted a thread of this site earlier today and said that Saturday wanted to play and that Luck would benefit from a vet center.

And last week/earlier this week Pagano said he'd love to have Saturday back.

Don't know how accurate all of this info is, just what I've heard/read.

Yea I posted what Saturday said. He said it on nfl network in the booth at the combine. He also said he was exploring his options but from his tone I think he will 100% play for some team next year. He said he felt great. And he also said that he realizes the colts are rebuilding and so he isnt a priority for them at this point. Hopefully the colts get some deal with him done

[21isSuperman]

Im sorry I don't live in Indiana so I'm not privy to much out here on the west coast but what has he done or said this offseason? The last thing I remember hearing was the night of the NFLN game against Houston. During that Interview my perception was that he wanted to stay and would love to finish his career here but understands that it is still ultimately a business? Did I miss something?

He has kept drawing attention to himself. He kept saying things like "I'm not going to make it easy on Indy to keep me" and "I haven't been contacted by Pagano or Grigson yet. There's an order of importance and I guess I'm not very high on that list". Just saying things to draw attention to himself, it really made me lose a lot of respect for him. Sure, he's a great receiver, but when he goes through a time of adversity (unknown contract status, no longer on a perennial contender), it reveals his character as being selfish and attention-craving. That's just my opinion though

[The Peytonator]

He has kept drawing attention to himself. He kept saying things like "I'm not going to make it easy on Indy to keep me" and "I haven't been contacted by Pagano or Grigson yet. There's an order of importance and I guess I'm not very high on that list". Just saying things to draw attention to himself, it really made me lose a lot of respect for him. Sure, he's a great receiver, but when he goes through a time of adversity (unknown contract status, no longer on a perennial contender), it reveals his character as being selfish and attention-craving. That's just my opinion though

Yeah sorry Reg, the FO isn't clammoring to give a 34 year old man, who was more or less the product of a Peyton Manning offense, a Larry Fitzgerald kind of contract.

The good thing about wideouts, at least in my book, they're everywhere as long as the guy throwing isn't named Painter. A good QB can turn a Mormon, a Haitian, and an NCIS cameo appearance actor into pretty studly receivers.