Update: Colts signing Michael Pittman Jr to three year contract

[richard pallo]

Anyone know who Pittman’s agent is?  If he is the same guy as Taylor’s then I think the tag is coming.  From what we have seen in the past Ballard has a good reputation with all of the agents and deals get done pretty easily for the most part.  I understand he said he wanted to test the market but even with that I’m sure they know he is not getting top of the market as does Ballard so getting a deal done shouldn’t be that difficult.  I find it hard to believe a tag is necessary at this stage of negotiations.  If it does happen that tells me they are far apart on the number and Pittman will be in for a surprise and not the one he was hoping for.

[IinD]

The numbers go up for every position every year so he'll be middle of the pack in a year or two so I wouldn't sweat salary much.

 

I think if AR can stay healthy Pittman could be even better because he could at least hit him in stride unlike Gardner and the other QBs we've had these last few years who throw ugly passes.

[2006Coltsbestever]

I hope we get this done soon so it isn't a distraction. I would love to see 1 offseason where we have 0 distractions. It seems to never happen 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

1 hour ago, IinD said:

The numbers go up for every position every year so he'll be middle of the pack in a year or two so I wouldn't sweat salary much.

 

I think if AR can stay healthy Pittman could be even better because he could at least hit him in stride unlike Gardner and the other QBs we've had these last few years who throw ugly passes.

Just like when Pittman played with rivers. Pittmans YAC was very good. Then I think we will see Pittman be a deep threat occasionally like he was with Wentz. We have a chance I think to see the entire package with Pittman with Richardson at QB.

[lester]

22 hours ago, Hawkeyecolt said:

Pittman isn’t going anywhere.  He has to say what he has to say in order to maximize his return.  If you listen to the podcast with Chris Long, Pittman sounds like he’s a Colt for the long-term...

 

This. I agree with this.

 

I don't believe Michael Pittman wants to go anywhere. He's just telling that market that he's not offering the hometown discount.

 

He has value. He knows he has value. He wants us all to know that he knows he has value. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

 

[richard pallo]

25 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

 

If he’s right and the Colts number 1 priority is to get him signed before FA then I have to believe Ballard will get it done before then.  I don’t think he wants to enter FA with $21m of his cap taken up with a franchise tag.  I believe they will get it done before then.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

6 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

If he’s right and the Colts number 1 priority is to get him signed before FA then I have to believe Ballard will get it done before then.  I don’t think he wants to enter FA with $21m of his cap taken up with a franchise tag.  I believe they will get it done before then.

Destin usually has a good pulse and sources. Doesn’t mean it will get done but seems like they at least want to get it done. Pittman knows Colts  have a good QB now so this shouldn’t be nearly as hard to get done. Might of been harder if they didn’t have a young stud at QB.

[richard pallo]

31 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Destin usually has a good pulse and sources. Doesn’t mean it will get done but seems like they at least want to get it done. Pittman knows Colts  have a good QB now so this shouldn’t be nearly as hard to get done. Might have been harder if they didn’t have a young stud at QB.

Agree.  I think he knows he’s in a very good situation with the Colts.  Throw in the fact that Ballard seems to pay the players he wants to retain very handsomely.  So I don’t see money being an issue they won’t be able to come to agreement on.

[BProland85]

First of all I hope Indy at least tags Pittman soon and doesn’t just allow him to be a FA. That would be a big mistake. If he is franchised soon, do you think a tag and trade could be possible if Ballard doesn’t want to shell out 25 mil or so per season for him?

 

And what do you feel the Colts could get back in return for a tag and trade of MPJ? If they could get back a 1st or two 2nds from a bad team I’d consider it with the WR draft class this year. 

[dw49]

8 minutes ago, BProland85 said:

First of all I hope Indy at least tags Pittman soon and doesn’t just allow him to be a FA. That would be a big mistake. If he is franchised soon, do you think a tag and trade could be possible if Ballard doesn’t want to shell out 25 mil or so per season for him?

 

And what do you feel the Colts could get back in return for a tag and trade of MPJ? If they could get back a 1st or two 2nds from a bad team I’d consider it with the WR draft class this year. 

 

If the WR draft class is very deep , why would a team give up a 1st or 2 seconds and give Pittman 25 mill a year ?  Also I highly doubt Indy just lets him walk as a FA. Ballard has all but said they will either tag him or sign him to a new contract. 

[chad72]

Besides, if they tag him with a non-exclusive, the onus is on Pittman to bring back the best contract he could get in the open market so that the Colts, who have a right to match, can match.

 

Pittman and his agent can’t just tell Ballard out of thin air “hey, the other team is willing to give me 4 years $100 million, so I need you to match it”, in which case Ballard would say “if you can show me an email or unofficial offer with the terms, I can tell you if I can match it”.
 

Both sides will and have to operate in good faith so that the agent is respected in the future, and Ballard is too.

[csmopar]

1 hour ago, BProland85 said:

First of all I hope Indy at least tags Pittman soon and doesn’t just allow him to be a FA. That would be a big mistake. If he is franchised soon, do you think a tag and trade could be possible if Ballard doesn’t want to shell out 25 mil or so per season for him?

 

And what do you feel the Colts could get back in return for a tag and trade of MPJ? If they could get back a 1st or two 2nds from a bad team I’d consider it with the WR draft class this year. 

How about no?

[AwesomeAustin]

Pittman is good enough to resign to $20m + a year but not enough to warrant trading more than a day 2 pick for. I could see a contender giving us a 2nd or 3rd if they thought he would be the last piece of their offense. That’s the top of his trade market and I’m guessing it won’t happen. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

My guess is if they were far off on negotiations they would have tagged him. Hopefully since it hasn’t happened yet they are close.

[Solid84]

Pittman said he wanted to test the market, so my guess is we’re tagging him. Is there a particular reason why tagging him now rather than waiting until the deadline is beneficial?

[csmopar]

2 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

Pittman said he wanted to test the market, so my guess is we’re tagging him. Is there a particular reason why tagging him now rather than waiting until the deadline is beneficial?

Not really any reason to tag him ahead of time unless negotiations just aren’t going well. My guess is that they’re still working on it and at the same time, working on Moores and Stewart’s. You can only tag one player so if all three are holding out, you’re better off waiting till the last minute to see if you can’t get one or two to agree and then you can use the tag on the remaining hold out. If needed

[Solid84]

34 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Not really any reason to tag him ahead of time unless negotiations just aren’t going well. My guess is that they’re still working on it and at the same time, working on Moores and Stewart’s. You can only tag one player so if all three are holding out, you’re better off waiting till the last minute to see if you can’t get one or two to agree and then you can use the tag on the remaining hold out. If needed

Yeah that what I’m thinking too. No need to play that card yet. 

[Zoltan]

26 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Not really any reason to tag him ahead of time unless negotiations just aren’t going well. My guess is that they’re still working on it and at the same time, working on Moores and Stewart’s. You can only tag one player so if all three are holding out, you’re better off waiting till the last minute to see if you can’t get one or two to agree and then you can use the tag on the remaining hold out. If needed

This is my thoughts as well, but until they announce a contract or tagging him, I'm gonna get progressively more nervous as the tag deadline approaches.

[csmopar]

5 minutes ago, Zoltan said:

This is my thoughts as well, but until they announce a contract or tagging him, I'm gonna get progressively more nervous as the tag deadline approaches.

I hear you but I just don’t think he’s going anywhere. I’m more worried about Stewart than I am Pittman. Moore as well and I’m not the biggest Moore fan but we need him

[Zoltan]

4 hours ago, csmopar said:

I hear you but I just don’t think he’s going anywhere. I’m more worried about Stewart than I am Pittman. Moore as well and I’m not the biggest Moore fan but we need him

I don't think so either, but the closer we get to the deadline the bigger the possibility gets to losing him. Stewart is also an important resign. Of all of them I think Moore has the biggest chance of leaving, they had the contract dispute in 2022 when he wanted a new deal with two years remaining. I could see him leave and go to the team offering the biggest payday since this may be his last chance at a big contract.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

7 minutes ago, Zoltan said:

I don't think so either, but the closer we get to the deadline the bigger the possibility gets to losing him. Stewart is also an important resign. Of all of them I think Moore has the biggest chance of leaving, they had the contract dispute in 2022 when he wanted a new deal with two years remaining. I could see him leave and go to the team offering the biggest payday since this may be his last chance at a big contract.

Personally I think it’s the opposite. Fact they haven’t franchised him tells me they are close. They will franchise him at the last minute if it doesn’t get done.

[jvan1973]

16 hours ago, AwesomeAustin said:

Pittman is good enough to resign to $20m + a year but not enough to warrant trading more than a day 2 pick for. I could see a contender giving us a 2nd or 3rd if they thought he would be the last piece of their offense. That’s the top of his trade market and I’m guessing it won’t happen. 

He is a free agent.   They can't trade him

[w87r]

18 minutes ago, jvan1973 said:

He is a free agent.   They can't trade him

Yes they can, they just have to give him the tag and he has to sign it to be traded. Then new team gives him an extension.

[DavePSL]

Ballard better be working on a lot more than just Pittman. We will have huge holes to fill if he doesn't sign Grove, Moore and Blackmon. If we can Tag Pittman, I would be more concerned with those guys, especially since teams now have more money than what was expected.

[w87r]

25 minutes ago, DavePSL said:

Ballard better be working on a lot more than just Pittman. We will have huge holes to fill if he doesn't sign Grove, Moore and Blackmon. If we can Tag Pittman, I would be more concerned with those guys, especially since teams now have more money than what was expected.

Biggest hole right now is DT, no doubt.

[tweezy32]

I will be upset if we lose big grove. We def need him to stop the run game. I get massive headaches seeing people run all over us.

[shasta519]

20 hours ago, BProland85 said:

First of all I hope Indy at least tags Pittman soon and doesn’t just allow him to be a FA. That would be a big mistake. If he is franchised soon, do you think a tag and trade could be possible if Ballard doesn’t want to shell out 25 mil or so per season for him?

 

And what do you feel the Colts could get back in return for a tag and trade of MPJ? If they could get back a 1st or two 2nds from a bad team I’d consider it with the WR draft class this year. 

 

I think if they franchise tag him, it's could be a bad sign if anything. That could mean that time to negotiate isn't the issue, as much as whether he wants to play here or somewhere else. And tagging him would ensure they can at least recoup some value via trade.

 

As for that value, I don't think you could get a R1 pick, but maybe a R2 pick and a R3 pick?

[ColtStrong2013]

5 minutes ago, shasta519 said:

 

I think if they franchise tag him, it's could be a bad sign if anything. That could mean that time to negotiate isn't the issue, as much as whether he wants to play here or somewhere else. And tagging him would ensure they can at least recoup some value via trade.

 

As for that value, I don't think you could get a R1 pick, but maybe a R2 pick and a R3 pick?

I don’t think he wants to play somewhere else. I think he wants to play the game his buddy Jonathan Taylor played to ensure he gets paid what he feels he deserves. He’s sitting in a pretty good spot… 

 

I just don’t see him going anywhere.

 

I’d say he’s probably tired of playing with a new qb every year though, so a lot of his satisfaction looking forward (as far as playing goes) will depend on Richardson’s health and performance.  

[shasta519]

16 hours ago, Solid84 said:

Pittman said he wanted to test the market, so my guess is we’re tagging him. Is there a particular reason why tagging him now rather than waiting until the deadline is beneficial?

 

Good question. I wouldn't think so, but CIN tagged Higgins pretty immediately.

 

My guess is part of it could be optics. Ballard and Steichen are both speaking at the Combine, so tagging MPJ now will just create a lot of questions when they are there to talk about the draft. If they haven't tagged him, they can more easily skirt around those questions.

 

I guess the upside would be additional time to explore trades? The start of FA is a few weeks away, so tagging him now could give you more time to get a trade done before the FA spending frenzy starts. But maybe you can explore trades without the tag applied? I don't really know the rules there. It would seem that that you should be able to, but there could be a rule against, since technically that player is going to be an UFA.

[ColtStrong2013]

16 hours ago, csmopar said:

I hear you but I just don’t think he’s going anywhere. I’m more worried about Stewart than I am Pittman. Moore as well and I’m not the biggest Moore fan but we need him

You don’t think Moore is replaceable? You aren’t concerned about him dropping off in a year or two? 
 

I’m not against re-signing him. I just wonder if it wouldn’t be better to find more versatile players in the secondary that we can stack on the roster. Finding a safety or two that can cover in that spot gives us more versatility. 

[ColtStrong2013]

1 minute ago, shasta519 said:

My guess is part of it could be optics. Ballard and Steichen are both speaking at the Combine, so tagging MPJ now will just create a lot of questions when they are there to talk about the draft. If they haven't tagged him, they can more easily skirt around those questions.

That’s an interesting thought that I hadn’t considered. Watch them go answer questions and then immediately announce the tag. 😂 

[Solid84]

17 minutes ago, shasta519 said:

 

I think if they franchise tag him, it's could be a bad sign if anything. That could mean that time to negotiate isn't the issue, as much as whether he wants to play here or somewhere else. And tagging him would ensure they can at least recoup some value via trade.

 

As for that value, I don't think you could get a R1 pick, but maybe a R2 pick and a R3 pick?

I just think it's Pittman trying to maximize profit. Not saying your point definitely isn't the case, I just get the feeling with how established he is in Indy he wants to stay here.

[shasta519]

2 minutes ago, ColtStrong2013 said:

I don’t think he wants to play somewhere else. I think he wants to play the game his buddy Jonathan Taylor played to ensure he gets paid what he feels he deserves. He’s sitting in a pretty good spot… 

 

I just don’t see him going anywhere.

 

I’d say he’s probably tired of playing with a new qb every year though, so a lot of his satisfaction looking forward (as far as playing goes) will depend on Richardson’s health and performance.  

 

He no doubt is tired of a different QB every year. The situation has certainly improved from knowing who the QB should be, but AR is no guarantee. So if QB stability is something MPJ values, he might see several situations as more stable and better bets. Plus, he's only going to turn 27, so he might be eyeing another shot at a big deal in 3 years with how the cap is trending. And QB stability would be important in that regard.

 

Him re-signing with IND is the most likely outcome though. But if you had told me last year that we would be a week or so from the tag deadline and MPJ was still unsigned, I wouldn't have believed it. That's just not the trend with WRs...and not the trend with Colts players. And now he's publicly talking about exploring FA and not sacrificing career potential for comfort. 

 

It just seems like there has to be some hesitation somewhere, whether that's the org. or MPJ's camp. But money typically clears that up.

 

 

 

 

[richard pallo]

What worries me a little is we haven’t signed any other of our FA.  We don’t know if we are having problems signing the other guys.  We could be.  The quicker we sign Pittman then we have a tag at our disposal for another player if we need it.  We tagged McAfee once so anything is possible.  Imo we need to sign our other FA asap.  I would hate to see none of them signed before FA and we are forced to tag Pittman and then compete for our other FA.  Time is of the essence.

[Dingus McGirt]

16 hours ago, csmopar said:

I hear you but I just don’t think he’s going anywhere. I’m more worried about Stewart than I am Pittman. Moore as well and I’m not the biggest Moore fan but we need him

Might be interesting to see how Stewart looks after a few months of no PED’s??

[shasta519]

12 minutes ago, ColtStrong2013 said:

That’s an interesting thought that I hadn’t considered. Watch them go answer questions and then immediately announce the tag. 😂 

 

I could see it. Could also see them waiting til after to announce his extension too. Given how they were peppered about questions about JT during that process, I think Ballard and Steichen prefer to not have to answer a bunch of the same questions about MPJ at a draft event. 

[shasta519]

26 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

I just think it's Pittman trying to maximize profit. Not saying your point definitely isn't the case, I just get the feeling with how established he is in Indy he wants to stay here.

 

Do most players live in their team's city in the offseason? I honestly don't know. But perhaps he just likes it in Indy during the offseason vs. being somewhere like SoCal.

 

He made public comments about valuing career potential over comfort, so being established or comfortable in Indy (he just bought a farm) might not be enough anyways, or might not be his priority. That's why it seems like more than just posturing IMO. But it's all just speculation. I just figured he would be locked up by now.

 

[shasta519]

17 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

What worries me a little is we haven’t signed any other of our FA.  We don’t know if we are having problems signing the other guys.  We could be.  The quicker we sign Pittman then we have a tag at our disposal for another player if we need it.  We tagged McAfee once so anything is possible.  Imo we need to sign our other FA asap.  I would hate to see none of them signed before FA and we are forced to tag Pittman and then compete for our other FA.  Time is of the essence.

 

Well MPJ is the big fish. So my guess would be they will wait to see how that goes before dealing with other FAs. It's not like any of them are getting the tag. With this cap increase, I don't think they want to guess on what the market will look like for those players.

[BeanDiasucci]

12 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

What worries me a little is we haven’t signed any other of our FA.  We don’t know if we are having problems signing the other guys.  We could be.  The quicker we sign Pittman then we have a tag at our disposal for another player if we need it.  We tagged McAfee once so anything is possible.  Imo we need to sign our other FA asap.  I would hate to see none of them signed before FA and we are forced to tag Pittman and then compete for our other FA.  Time is of the essence.

Are Stewart or Moore worth potentially paying at the top five of their position (non-exclusive tag) or the top 10 (transition tag) for the past five years if you tag them? That's $22,102,000 (non-exclusive) and $19,802,000 (transition) for Stewart and $19,802,000 (non-exclusive) or $17,215,000 (transition) for Moore? Seems like too much for either one of them to me.