Colts remain quiet in early free agency

After a spending spree in 2015, the Indianapolis Colts have remained silent in the opening days of free agency, and that isn’t a bad thing at all.

The Colts have a number of needs to address this offseason but that doesn’t mean they have to take wild swings to solve their issues right now. GM Ryan Grigson has remained patient and not wadded into the waters of overpaid free agents.

The Colts have made a few minor moves to free up some cap space, cutting a player here, restructuring a deal there, and made sure not to budge in contract negotiations. But this is all out of necessity, not because of some grand plan by Grigson. The Colts don’t have the money to sign a big name free agent, or really even a moderate name free agent.

Right now, estimates have them with roughly $23 million in cap space. But there are a number of considerations that have to be applied to that number.

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First, they’ll need roughly $6 million to sign this year’s crop of rookies. Second, they have to take into account Andrew Luck‘s future contract when structuring new deals. Luck will make $16 million this year, but he’s expected to make north of $21 per year with the new contract.

With those two things in mind, that means the Colts are left with about $10-12 million to spend during this free agency period. That clearly isn’t enough to sign a big name player, but there are still options available.

One important player the Colts should be looking to re-sign is linebacker Jerrell Freeman. His name has been attached to a couple teams, like the Falcons and Bears, but it also doesn’t sound like negotiations with the Colts are going well. It sounds like the Colts have stayed with a firm with a number, and Freeman is hoping to get more.

Considering former Broncos linebacker Danny Trevathan, who is five years younger than Freeman, inked a deal with the Bears worth roughly $6 million per year, Freeman can’t be hoping for too much more.

Being patient at this point is going to be key for the Colts, and the success of the offseason is going to be determined by the strength of their draft. If they can hit on more than a few picks and find a cheap veteran or two, it will set up a successful 2016 campaign.

Colts fans might get antsy watching the rest of the AFC South throwing cash at free agents, but as we learned last year, the season isn’t won in March. Considering the history of the other three teams, there is a real possibility that none of those signings will actually work out.

Rather than ferry in free agents and try to make game changing deals, the Colts are investing more time in scouting this year. We’ve seen reports of both Grigson and coach Chuck Pagano at Pro Days around the country this week. If the Colts can’t nail the 2016 draft, they are going to have serious issues in the coming years.

Next: Where do the Colts go from here?

Some may view this as a rebuilding year, and in the sense of “can they win a championship” that probably is the case. This offseason is more about building for the future. Based on what we’ve seen so far, the 2015 draft looks to be a success but that doesn’t make up for the two prior drafts being terrible.

While there are positions of need all over the roster, and the team absolutely needs to get younger, the Colts still have a shot as long as they can keep Luck upright this season.

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