Colts 2021 Salary Cap Forecast/Discussion **Updated pg 6**

[NewColtsFan]

3 minutes ago, coming on strong said:

rivers cares about winning he chose the colts because he knows franks system and the colts offensive line.  rivers has been sacked the least amount of times per QBS . if the colts explain the situation to him i doubt he is gonna wanna walk and learn a new system at 39 turning 40 and leave a top 3 defense and offensive line for 5 million when he already made over 100 million .   what other team is gonna offer him 25 million plus ?  all the good teams have QBs right now even 49ers are not gonna dump jimmy g .  so rivers would have to go to a bad team and lose or pick the colts .

I get the circumstances.   But it’s a respect thing.   If Phillip wants to take a hair cut for the good of the team then great!   But if not, we need him as much as he needs us.   Who else would we get that we believe in as we do with PR.   And please don’t say Jameis Winston. 
 

Ballard understands protocol.   That’s why NFL agents recently voted him the number 1 GM to deal with.  You may get your wish that PR comes back at a lower number.   I’m just saying don’t count it.  Not yet.   

[coming on strong]

3 minutes ago, JPFolks said:

That doesn't seem like much money to resign more than 10ish guys, or less if they resign Rivers to 25 million again. That leaves 35 million which might cover 9 more people? The rest of the roster seems to average app. 4 million a season.  

 

Must sign these 6: Mack, Pascal, Muhammed, Walker Jr, Rhodes, Carrie, Would like to sign these 6: Harris, Hilton, Burton, Houston, Autry, Stallworth,.  And obviously we're going to have to fill the roster in general.  Can we actually lowball these guys? And can we afford to max out our cap?  Sure seems tight to me, and that would leave room for any decent FAs.  I think we can get Mack cheap and he deserves at least a prove it deal, Pascal deserves a contract, Rhodes deserves a contract as does Carrie. These guys have "proven it."  Muhammed is solid depth, Harris seems promising, and Stallworth can make his case starting Sunday.  Seems awful tight.  I know people seem to have given up on TY, but I blame Rivers and schemes as much as TY.  

there is no way around it , hilton mack and walker are gonna be gone .   move leonard or bobby to middle linebacker and put ej speed in .  also gonna have to give up either houston or autry , and keep either rhodes or carrie .     colts can draft a pass rusher and corner and wr in the first 3 rounds to stop the bleeding .  good teams have to make cuts and replace with the draft , its either draft well every year or go back wards . its a cut throat league either the colts keep drafting good and finding cheap free agents to over perform or fall behind .

[JPFolks]

2 hours ago, w87r said:

FAs:(23)

Rivers -$20-$25m

Brissett- let walk

Mack - let walk

Hilton - let walk/ or $7-$10m

Marcus Johnson - let walk

D. Harris - ERFA - $600k

Dulin - ERFA - $600k

Z Pascal - RFA - let walk/ or $2m

Burton - let walk/ or $4m

Cox - ERFA - $600k

Chaz Green - let walk

L. Clark - let walk

J. Houston - let walk/ or $8-$10m

D. Autry - let walk/ or $8-$10m

Muhammad - let walk

Stallworth - RFA - let walk or $2m

Walker Jr - let walk of $5-$7m

X Rhodes - let walk or $5-$7m

Carrie - let walk

T. Smith - RFA - let walk

Hooker - let walk 

T Wilson - let walk 

Odum - RFA - let walk

 

$60m after draft picks:

 

Contracts:

Based on those numbers I have anywhere from

$55m-$87m in contracts.

 

With 12-20 players to replace.

If you let all these players walk, you destroy cohesion, you destroy moral and you still have to pay SOMEONE who doesn't suck to play.  I think there's 6 to 12 guys that should be back. The 12 I like look like right at 60 million based roughly on your numbers (if Rivers comes back).  And there's still more bodies needed to fill the roster. Still seems very tight to me.  It also leaves no room to bring in a solid FA uograde, like a lineman or TE.  

[JPFolks]

2 hours ago, coming on strong said:

your numbers are wrong though .  colts in 2021 have 91 in cap space and this is with the 175 salary cap drop .   ten million to grover puts them at 81 million still the most cap space in the league

https://coltswire.usatoday.com/2020/08/09/indianapolis-colts-news-lead-nfl-salary-cap-space-2021/

then that makes a HUGE difference. But did you include rookies?

[coming on strong]

1 minute ago, NewColtsFan said:

I get the circumstances.   But it’s a respect thing.   If Phillip wants to take a hair cut for the good of the team then great!   But if not, we need him as much as he needs us.   Who else would we get that we believe in as we do with PR.   And please don’t say Jameis Winston. 
 

Ballard understands protocol.   That’s why NFL agents recently voted him the number 1 GM to deal with.  You may get your wish that PR comes back at a lower number.   I’m just saying don’t count it.  Not yet.   

i get your point but if rivers asks for more money and colts lose key guys they are not a contender any more and its worth starting eason and getting rid of the vets and get younger .   rivers has be great the last 4 games out of 5 but without of top 3 defense and offensive line he has no chance of making the playoffs .   with the chargers he won 3 games with great weapons .   he is not a the point in his career where he can carry a team anymore . so its either he takes a cut and wins or takes the money and has a losing season .

Just now, JPFolks said:

then that makes a HUGE difference. But did you include rookies?

no i forget about kelly and grover

[JPFolks]

2 hours ago, EastStreet said:

Yup, I noticed the date on the article he linked.

 

This is just another reason why I was concerned about JB's contract hit. The carry over saved could have meant keeping a key contributor. 

We have to pay Brissett next year?

[coming on strong]

1 minute ago, JPFolks said:

then that makes a HUGE difference. But did you include rookies?

that was before the signed kelly to a huge deal and grover that takes 20 million away  colts are at 77 million

[coming on strong]

5 minutes ago, JPFolks said:

If you let all these players walk, you destroy cohesion, you destroy moral and you still have to pay SOMEONE who doesn't suck to play.  I think there's 6 to 12 guys that should be back. The 12 I like look like right at 60 million based roughly on your numbers (if Rivers comes back).  And there's still more bodies needed to fill the roster. Still seems very tight to me.  It also leaves no room to bring in a solid FA uograde, like a lineman or TE.  

its gonna all be on rivers to be honest .  if rivers takes a pay cut we can sign all these guys and just let a couple go .  do we want a solid QB and a worse team or a better team and a rookie QB ?  that is for ballard to judge i dont know what eason looks like at practice

[NewColtsFan]

25 minutes ago, coming on strong said:

i get your point but if rivers asks for more money and colts lose key guys they are not a contender any more and its worth starting eason and getting rid of the vets and get younger .   rivers has be great the last 4 games out of 5 but without of top 3 defense and offensive line he has no chance of making the playoffs .   with the chargers he won 3 games with great weapons .   he is not a the point in his career where he can carry a team anymore . so its either he takes a cut and wins or takes the money and has a losing season .

You repeatedly seem to think we’re the only one with leverage.    We’re not.   Rivers has leverage too.   If he feels unappreciated or disrespected, he could easily simply retire. 
 

And then where are we?  
 

There’s a professional art to this.  Ballard has shown he knows how to do this at the highest level.   He lets players test the market and either sign with a new team, or he brings them back on terms he’s willing to pay.   And he does this with professionalism, respect and class. 
 

This off season will be a real challenge, but I’m confident Ballard is up to it.   We will lose some players, but I think CB will keep the right ones and let the others walk. 

[w87r]

1 hour ago, NewColtsFan said:

Go thru your own list.   A number of the players you list as “let walk” are already making at or near the minimum.   Letting them walk makes little sense unless they get replaced by high level draft picks because they still have to be replaced.   And the replacements will likely cost what these guys are currently making.   You’re just swapping one inexpensive player for another. 
 

Decisions could get really REALLY complicated IF we decide to pay Leonard and Smith a year before we have to.   And I think that’s highly likely.  Their type of talent gets the VIP treatment when it comes to $$$$. 
 

By the way, thanks so much for the thread.   There are going to be lots of great discussions here over the next 6 months or so.   Appreciate you starting it!       

Im just being realistic.

 

By letting the guys walk and r the salary ranges. We are already capped out to $20m over the cap.

 

I know a lot of these guys are major contributors but we are going to have to let some people go.

1 hour ago, EastStreet said:

Guessing he rightfully thinks either A) they'll want more money since they are coming off cheap contracts, or B) they need to be improved upon by a wide variety of choice.

 

Its not even that but if you notice my range like I said above to NCF. We are at $55m on low end and $80m+ of we signed everyone I listed.

 

We are really closer to $60m after we pay our draft picks. So $60m for that list of guys. Paying Rivers $20-$25m takes up 33-40% of available cap space. Which I think we need to do, because Im not ready to turn it over to Eason.

 

Just really showing how tight money really is.

 

Really one of the reasons I think Doyle and Glow, could be traded/released to save around $10m.

 

I know you understand all this just explaining to others reading through thread.

[JPFolks]

1 hour ago, EastStreet said:

That's a pretty bad take given how much he's come on lately (especially given the WR situation), we're winning the AFCS, and have zero idea about Eason. 

 

I doubt Ballard is ready to flash cut given the talent he's assembled for a run.

That's assumptions both ways. Ballard knows whether Eason is the next Mahommes or the next Brissett.  We don't have even a slight idea either way. If Eason is ready, I would not be surprised to see them sign Brissett to a back up contract, unless in the unlikely event someone offers him starters money.  If not, and they move on from Rivers for Eason, Brissett would be a solid backup.  If anyone can sell him on that, it is Reich.  

 

Obviously if Rivers is back, then Eason would be the backup if they think they see potential starting material.  /if he's really not getting it, they could dump him, and STILL keep Jacoby as an appropriately paid back-up.  Just my opinion. 

[EastStreet]

21 minutes ago, coming on strong said:

my main point is  a lot of these guys on this list are dirt cheap .   even the veterans who are playing well are old so they will be cheap .  plus your not counting the draft .   we could still resign houston autry rhodes plus keep a  lot of cheap depth guys and be okay .  houston is making 8 million a year and now he is two years older and his sack numbers are gonna drop from last year we could get him for 5 million autry for 7 and rhodes for 7 and still have 21 million to sign a bunch of cheap depth guys like cox harris pascal muhammad and go get a cheap veteran wr

Nobody is saying there will be a mass exodus. Folks are saying there will be some tough decisions. And you're assuming nobody wants pay raises, etc.. 

18 minutes ago, coming on strong said:

you dont trust ballard you dont think he knows his plan already .  the next year when needed to sign leonard nelson and smith , AC will take off 16 million cap space kelly drops down per year and glow is gone houston autry rhodes gone plus rivers gone .  that can be well over 65 million in new cap space . the key to keeping a team going is the draft look at the ravens they lost tons of great defenders in the early 2012 range and hit in the draft and now they still have a elite defense . 

I'm sure Ballard has a plan. But plans always change. Roster management is fluid. And for every guy you say is gone, not every guy will be replaced by a draft pick. We've required some pretty big FA adds due to multiple reasons. I like Ballard's hit rate in the draft, but that's only part of the equation. And when you hit in the draft, some of those big hits turn into big contracts like Leonard/Q/Smith/etc. will. You can't simply assume best case scenarios for every situation, max out every year, and expect to draft well and keep everyone. That's just not reality.

[w87r]

1 hour ago, Stephen said:

Don't  sign rivers roll with eason

you really ready to do that?

 

26 minutes ago, JPFolks said:

That doesn't seem like much money to resign more than 10ish guys, or less if they resign Rivers to 25 million again. That leaves 35 million which might cover 9 more people? The rest of the roster seems to average app. 4 million a season.  

 

Must sign these 6: Mack, Pascal, Muhammed, Walker Jr, Rhodes, Carrie, Would like to sign these 6: Harris, Hilton, Burton, Houston, Autry, Stallworth,.  And obviously we're going to have to fill the roster in general.  Can we actually lowball these guys? And can we afford to max out our cap?  Sure seems tight to me, and that would leave room for any decent FAs.  I think we can get Mack cheap and he deserves at least a prove it deal, Pascal deserves a contract, Rhodes deserves a contract as does Carrie. These guys have "proven it."  Muhammed is solid depth, Harris seems promising, and Stallworth can make his case starting Sunday.  Seems awful tight.  I know people seem to have given up on TY, but I blame Rivers and schemes as much as TY.  

Its not a lot of money, hence the reason I really wanted to start a discussion about it. To show just how up against the cap we really are.

 

 

Unfortunately covid took a lot of money from the cap. Without the drop we would have closer to $100m ro spend and probably more because it would of went up next hear instead of dropping.

 

 

Again though, a lot of teams are in way worse shape than us. There will be a lot of Cap casualties on other teams. Teams that will be $30-$40m over the cap before they make any moves.

[Moosejawcolt]

2 hours ago, w87r said:

FAs:(23)

Rivers -$20-$25m

Brissett- let walk

Mack - let walk

Hilton - let walk/ or $7-$10m

Marcus Johnson - let walk

D. Harris - ERFA - $600k

Dulin - ERFA - $600k

Z Pascal - RFA - let walk/ or $2m

Burton - let walk/ or $4m

Cox - ERFA - $600k

Chaz Green - let walk

L. Clark - let walk

J. Houston - let walk/ or $8-$10m

D. Autry - let walk/ or $8-$10m

Muhammad - let walk

Stallworth - RFA - let walk or $2m

Walker Jr - let walk of $5-$7m

X Rhodes - let walk or $5-$7m

Carrie - let walk

T. Smith - RFA - let walk

Hooker - let walk 

T Wilson - let walk 

Odum - RFA - let walk

 

$60m after draft picks:

 

Contracts:

Based on those numbers I have anywhere from

$55m-$87m in contracts.

 

With 12-20 players to replace.

I like Carrie a lot. Rhodes wont b cheap. Something bout Stallworth intrigues me. I see potential. I think they will try and get Houston and Autry signed. Turay is coming off injury and cant stay healthy. I would keep Walker as he can play all linebacker positions. Sign Burton to a friendly contract. The rest are expendable

[JPFolks]

1 hour ago, tweezy32 said:

Let Hilton walk and sign a wr in free agency. Some big names that could be available and I’d be willing to go for one of the big names even if it cost us.

We don't have the money to get a top FA WR (though we need two in my opinion, to go along with Pascal, Pittman, Mr. Injury and perhap Harris. Sure they could draft one again but we have too many draft needs. (TE, QB?, LT, DE, LB, CB).  I think going for a speed guy and possesion guy makes sense if our misc. WR bodies don't pan out. Like will Patmon see an active roster spot this year?

[EastStreet]

8 minutes ago, JPFolks said:

That's assumptions both ways. Ballard knows whether Eason is the next Mahommes or the next Brissett.  We don't have even a slight idea either way. If Eason is ready, I would not be surprised to see them sign Brissett to a back up contract, unless in the unlikely event someone offers him starters money.  If not, and they move on from Rivers for Eason, Brissett would be a solid backup.  If anyone can sell him on that, it is Reich.  

 

Obviously if Rivers is back, then Eason would be the backup if they think they see potential starting material.  /if he's really not getting it, they could dump him, and STILL keep Jacoby as an appropriately paid back-up.  Just my opinion. 

I'm not assuming anything about Eason. I was replying to someone who was making an assumption.

 

 

[JPFolks]

1 hour ago, coming on strong said:

the news reports  i read said rivers had no other teams interested but the colts .   how many teams are gonna wanna sign a 40 year old QB for 25 million plus who over the past two years throws close to 20 picks .    winston signed for nothing and he threw 33 touchdowns 5000 yards and 30 picks .  its hard for me to believe that teams will out bid the colts with rivers who has 14 touchdowns to 8 picks this year .    he will get offered 15 million and will stay .

If we are 1 and di=one in the playoffs, Rivers needs to go coach HS.  If Eason isn't the guy (or close enough to give him a whirl) then they have to cobble together enough draft capitol to go get someone.   

[EastStreet]

25 minutes ago, JPFolks said:

We have to pay Brissett next year?

His contract this year, and the impact to carryover for next year.

[w87r]

2 hours ago, coming on strong said:

colts are still top 5 in cap space they are in great shape no need to panic .   with AC and glow coming off when the big signings of leonard nelson and smith happen colts will be in great shape next year and after next. 

Colt ate definitely in better shape than mlst teams, but still not in great shape.

 

Im not concerned about the extensions because those will affect the cap down the line. They are already under contract next year. Just something else to come our way.

 

2 hours ago, coming on strong said:

by letting walker houston and hilton walk colts can sign a bunch more of the young guys .autry and rhodes are must signs while guys with big potential cox , odum muhammad , pascal , harris  are must signs

By letting Walker, Houston and Hilton walk and signing everyone else I listed. We would still be over the cap with $62m and only having $60m to spend.

 

2 hours ago, coming on strong said:

the great thing about ballard is he set it up for when the big contracts come out in 2022 that the colts will have more cap space. kellys contract was front end loaded up and goes down .   losing AC will save 16 million and rivers contract is gone by then . try and replace glow with pintor .  i love the way ballard saves for cap space .

Definitely glad we have Ballard working the cap. Just covid put a big financial hit on the whole league and some major contributors are going to have to go.

 

 

And I could see Rivers maybe take $20m next year, but again that leaves us with $40m after draft picks to sign some 20 players or more. Either our guys or replacements.

[EastStreet]

17 minutes ago, w87r said:

Its not even that but if you notice my range like I said above to NCF. We are at $55m on low end and $80m+ of we signed everyone I listed.

 

We are really closer to $60m after we pay our draft picks. So $60m for that list of guys. Paying Rivers $20-$25m takes up 33-40% of available cap space. Which I think we need to do, because Im not ready to turn it over to Eason.

 

Just really showing how tight money really is.

 

Really one of the reasons I think Doyle and Glow, could be traded/released to save around $10m.

 

I know you understand all this just explaining to others reading through thread.

Oh I got ya. Most don't get the #s. 

 

I'm trying not to get to deep lol, as I want to sit down and deep dive from a positional standpoint before forming hard opinions on specific guys. I also want to look forward to 2022 to understand the impacts of 2021 will have going forward.

 

The draft this year is really interesting to me. I'm just not sure how we will attack it with all the moving parts right now. DE really scares me more than anything else. I really hope Turay comes on the remainder of the year. If he could become a 3 down guy, that would be huge.

[w87r]

32 minutes ago, JPFolks said:

We have to pay Brissett next year?

 

6 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

His contract this year, and the impact to carryover for next year.

JP

 

What EastStreet was saying is if we would of just cut bait on Brissett this year. We would of had an additional $12m(ish) roll over to next years cap.

[JPFolks]

1 hour ago, coming on strong said:

you dont trust ballard you dont think he knows his plan already .  the next year when needed to sign leonard nelson and smith , AC will take off 16 million cap space kelly drops down per year and glow is gone houston autry rhodes gone plus rivers gone .  that can be well over 65 million in new cap space . the key to keeping a team going is the draft look at the ravens they lost tons of great defenders in the early 2012 range and hit in the draft and now they still have a elite defense . 

He doesn't need to sign Nelson, he's a 5th year guy.

[w87r]

1 hour ago, tweezy32 said:

Let Hilton walk and sign a wr in free agency. Some big names that could be available and I’d be willing to go for one of the big names even if it cost us.

There is no money to sign a big name anything this offseason.

 

Although, like Ive said in a few post, we are in better shape than most teams.

 

I imagine a lot of players thay would be signing big long tern contracts will end up signing cheaper 1 yr deals and hit the market again in 2022, when hopefully the cap will jp back up.

[EastStreet]

8 minutes ago, JPFolks said:

If we are 1 and di=one in the playoffs, Rivers needs to go coach HS.  If Eason isn't the guy (or close enough to give him a whirl) then they have to cobble together enough draft capitol to go get someone.   

It's not that simple. If we lose in the playoffs because our D plays like they have the last two games in the 1st half, that's not a QB issue. And if Eason isn't a no-brainer, the decision on Rivers is even harder. 

 

And it's really hard to gauge Eason this year. No preseason games, covid restrictions during practice, etc.. We don't even no how many reps he's getting in practice, or if he's even running most of the scout teams. Eason may well be our future, but none of know, and it's likely the FO has less of an understanding than they might in a typical year. 

 

JB should only factor is he's cheap AND if either Rivers or Eason isn't in the plans. And he probably shouldn't factor if they give up on Eason either. They'll need to find another young guy to develop.

[JPFolks]

55 minutes ago, coming on strong said:

rivers cares about winning he chose the colts because he knows franks system and the colts offensive line.  rivers has been sacked the least amount of times per QBS . if the colts explain the situation to him i doubt he is gonna wanna walk and learn a new system at 39 turning 40 and leave a top 3 defense and offensive line for 5 million when he already made over 100 million .   what other team is gonna offer him 25 million plus ?  all the good teams have QBs right now even 49ers are not gonna dump jimmy g .  so rivers would have to go to a bad team and lose or pick the colts .

Rivers has already made 218.9 million. 

[w87r]

45 minutes ago, JPFolks said:

If you let all these players walk, you destroy cohesion, you destroy moral and you still have to pay SOMEONE who doesn't suck to play.  I think there's 6 to 12 guys that should be back. The 12 I like look like right at 60 million based roughly on your numbers (if Rivers comes back).  And there's still more bodies needed to fill the roster. Still seems very tight to me.  It also leaves no room to bring in a solid FA uograde, like a lineman or TE.  

Yeah, I agree. Its not something I want to do(letting some of these guys walk), its just a reality of the situation and a glance to the near future on the tough decisions that will need to be made.

[w87r]

43 minutes ago, coming on strong said:

that was before the signed kelly to a huge deal and grover that takes 20 million away  colts are at 77 million

Colts are at $67m with Grover deal

[EastStreet]

7 minutes ago, JPFolks said:

He doesn't need to sign Nelson, he's a 5th year guy.

While he is a 5th year guy, I'd bet they extend before given our track record. 

[w87r]

42 minutes ago, coming on strong said:

its gonna all be on rivers to be honest .  if rivers takes a pay cut we can sign all these guys and just let a couple go .  do we want a solid QB and a worse team or a better team and a rookie QB ?  that is for ballard to judge i dont know what eason looks like at practice

Very tough decision.

 

If Rivers would take $20m which is a pay cut we would still o ly have $40m. If he wants his $25m we would only have $35m to spend.(after signing draft picks)

[coming on strong]

9 minutes ago, w87r said:

Colt ate definitely in better shape than mlst teams, but still not in great shape.

 

Im not concerned about the extensions because those will affect the cap down the line. They are already under contract next year. Just something else to come our way.

 

By letting Walker, Houston and Hilton walk and signing everyone else I listed. We would still be over the cap with $62m and only having $60m to spend.

 

Definitely glad we have Ballard working the cap. Just covid put a big financial hit on the whole league and some major contributors are going to have to go.

 

 

And I could see Rivers maybe take $20m next year, but again that leaves us with $40m after draft picks to sign some 20 players or more. Either our guys or replacements.

let a couple of depth players go like carrie who tell and rogers can replace and a couple of small depth players .   the bottom line is colts are gonna have to replace houston in the draft and develop patmon and harris and other young guys and bank on cambell being healthy .  ballard is gonna have to draft a pass rusher corner and wr in the first three rounds this year .  then look for depth .  then in the draft after go tackle 1st round  and tight end .  its all gonna come down to ballards drafts , if he hits on at least two players a year being starters then the colts should be fine .

[w87r]

39 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

We’re not.   Rivers has leverage too.   If he feels unappreciated or disrespected, he could easily simply retire. 
 

And then where are we?  

Valid point.

 

It isn't Rivers being selfish by not taking a huge pay cut.

 

Just at what point is he like Ive made enough money, I'll just hang em up and coach my kids.

[coming on strong]

2 minutes ago, w87r said:

Very tough decision.

 

If Rivers would take $20m which is a pay cut we would still o ly have $40m. If he wants his $25m we would only have $35m to spend.(after signing draft picks)

if ben banagu came on and tell played this year and came on this would be a very easy decision . At least if turray can prove he can replace houston in the last 6 games maybe we can be okay . 

[w87r]

30 minutes ago, Moosejawcolt said:

I like Carrie a lot. Rhodes wont b cheap. Something bout Stallworth intrigues me. I see potential. I think they will try and get Houston and Autry signed. Turay is coming off injury and cant stay healthy. I would keep Walker as he can play all linebacker positions. Sign Burton to a friendly contract. The rest are expendable

I like all those guys as well. Just going to be hard.

[JPFolks]

48 minutes ago, coming on strong said:

there is no way around it , hilton mack and walker are gonna be gone .   move leonard or bobby to middle linebacker and put ej speed in .  also gonna have to give up either houston or autry , and keep either rhodes or carrie .     colts can draft a pass rusher and corner and wr in the first 3 rounds to stop the bleeding .  good teams have to make cuts and replace with the draft , its either draft well every year or go back wards . its a cut throat league either the colts keep drafting good and finding cheap free agents to over perform or fall behind .

Why would you need to get rid of Mack? We have other draft needs, he's a great team guy, when he's healthy he's a starting caliber back who can split time with our 3 headed monster. There are a HUGE number of top RBs going to be FAs this year meaning we can get Mack at a low low price. It makes zero sense not to bring him back on a one year deal that will be super cheap because there's a literal flood of top RBs hitting the market.  Hilton obviously would have to take a 1yr Farewell deal, and that is only if he stays healthy the rest of the year and starts to click with Rivers.  I still think Rivers and Reich are more to blame than TY.  If Rhodes and Carrie finish the season on par with where they are right now, why wouldn't we bring them back? Carrie would be a one year Vet minimum-ish deal, but Rhodes would likely have to be a two year deal.  Ya Sin is STILL not where he needs to be in my opinion.  The jury is still out.  If Rhodes finishes strong, he should be back.  And why do folks seem to forget we desperatrely need a LT? I don't get it.  Whether AC finishes his contract or not, we need to get a top notch LT more than anything else except QB.  

 

And IF Rivers is done or Eason shows no promise (even if Rivers finishes with us) we need a QB of the future which likely means trading up in the draft might be a thing and may cost us at least our 1 and 2 plus other stuff.  We have good players that we should sign.  If we're a playoff team (TBD) then we need to keep and reward those guys who got us there.  That is what Ballard say's he's all about, resigning our own guys rather than other people's guys.  

[coming on strong]

3 minutes ago, w87r said:

Valid point.

 

It isn't Rivers being selfish by not taking a huge pay cut.

 

Just at what point is he like Ive made enough money, I'll just hang em up and coach my kids.

i really doubt ballard is gonna over pay rivers .  ballard will always put the future of the team first . if rivers wants 30 million there is no way colts can resign him . its looks like this could be the final push for a super bowl or else the colts are gonna have to just rebuild and let all the veterans walk and keep the young guys .  I just hope rivers sees that its worth taking a pay cut to come back to try to win a ring .  If the colts make a deep run or win a super bowl , i would make a bet rivers would come back dirt cheap to help his chance at the hall of fame . rivers does not strike me as a money first guy .  He is like brady where i bet he would take a ten million pay cut if he sees the team is a super bowl team .

[richard pallo]

The one thing I keep thinking about is how Covid is really going to effect the Cap.  We are not the only team that will have to cut players they would like to keep.  Those players cut will have to take less money if they want to remain in the league.  If I'm their agent I wouldn't want them signing long term deals with a reduced cap.  I can see a lot of one year deals going out maybe two if they view you as a contender.  Maybe that's why Grover signed now knowing we were his best chance at a good contract.  So the numbers required to sign a talented player should be dropping in the short term IMO.  That's why Kenny Stills intrigues me now.  He is only 27 and if he gets through waivers he would be an ideal player to take a chance on.  Sign him for the remainder of this year and next year as well.  Ballard has had great luck with Ebron and Burton.  Maybe the strategy could work for Stills.  At least we would have an experienced WR under contract in case TY falls through.  The bottom line for me is the players being cut are going to have to take less money to stay in the league.  And they will want a short deal so they can become free again when the cap goes up.  We have a lot more going for us than most teams.  I feel confident we are in good hands with Ballard running the show. 

[coming on strong]

1 minute ago, JPFolks said:

Why would you need to get rid of Mack? We have other draft needs, he's a great team guy, when he's healthy he's a starting caliber back who can split time with our 3 headed monster. There are a HUGE number of top RBs going to be FAs this year meaning we can get Mack at a low low price. It makes zero sense not to bring him back on a one year deal that will be super cheap because there's a literal flood of top RBs hitting the market.  Hilton obviously would have to take a 1yr Farewell deal, and that is only if he stays healthy the rest of the year and starts to click with Rivers.  I still think Rivers and Reich are more to blame than TY.  If Rhodes and Carrie finish the season on par with where they are right now, why wouldn't we bring them back? Carrie would be a one year Vet minimum-ish deal, but Rhodes would likely have to be a two year deal.  Ya Sin is STILL not where he needs to be in my opinion.  The jury is still out.  If Rhodes finishes strong, he should be back.  And why do folks seem to forget we desperatrely need a LT? I don't get it.  Whether AC finishes his contract or not, we need to get a top notch LT more than anything else except QB.  

 

And IF Rivers is done or Eason shows no promise (even if Rivers finishes with us) we need a QB of the future which likely means trading up in the draft might be a thing and may cost us at least our 1 and 2 plus other stuff.  We have good players that we should sign.  If we're a playoff team (TBD) then we need to keep and reward those guys who got us there.  That is what Ballard say's he's all about, resigning our own guys rather than other people's guys.  

i only say mack because looking at the cap colts cannot afford to pay him more then 2 million . with his talent he deserves to make  more .  i think ballard is gonna move on from free agents over guys he drafted .  ballard not giving walker a deal now proves he is gone hilton and houston are likely gone , and carrie too.

[danlhart87]

If Colts take a QB at all high in 21 it will be Trask or Jones 

[w87r]

1 minute ago, coming on strong said:

i really doubt ballard is gonna over pay rivers .  ballard will always put the future of the team first . if rivers wants 30 million there is no way colts can resign him . its looks like this could be the final push for a super bowl or else the colts are gonna have to just rebuild and let all the veterans walk and keep the young guys .  I just hope rivers sees that its worth taking a pay cut to come back to try to win a ring .  If the colts make a deep run or win a super bowl , i would make a bet rivers would come back dirt cheap to help his chance at the hall of fame . rivers does not strike me as a money first guy .  He is like brady where i bet he would take a ten million pay cut if he sees the team is a super bowl team .

You never know. Hopefully thats the case, but even if he came in at $15m, money is still tight.

 

Would leave us with $45m to sign 20+ players.

 

I want Rivers back as of now, as I think he gives us the best chance to compete this year and next.

 

 

 

A e that has been floated around for ua has been Sam Darnold. If we were to make a deal for him, he would only have a cap hit of around $4.7m for us next year. So IDK, if Rivers is gone that is definitely something to look into.

[coming on strong]

2 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

The one thing I keep thinking about is how Covid is really going to effect the Cap.  We are not the only team that will have to cut players they would like to keep.  Those players cut will have to take less money if they want to remain in the league.  If I'm their agent I wouldn't want them signing long term deals with a reduced cap.  I can see a lot of one year deals going out maybe two if they view you as a contender.  Maybe that's why Grover signed now knowing we were his best chance at a good contract.  So the numbers required to sign a talented player should be dropping in the short term IMO.  That's why Kenny Stills intrigues me now.  He is only 27 and if he gets through waivers he would be an ideal player to take a chance on.  Sign him for the remainder of this year and next year as well.  Ballard has had great luck with Ebron and Burton.  Maybe the strategy could work for Stills.  At least we would have an experienced WR under contract in case TY falls through.  The bottom line for me is the players being cut are going to have to take less money to stay in the league.  And they will want a short deal so they can become free again when the cap goes up.  We have a lot more going for us than most teams.  I feel confident we are in good hands with Ballard running the show. 

i think that is the only good point . guys like rhodes autry and other veterans are gonna struggle to make money on other teams because they will have to cut players also .  the cap going down is gonna make free agents sign for less money .  this could drive down the cost of every free agent on the list .  it just sucks as soon as we get good again we are due to lose key veterans .