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Colts Capology: Colts Can Carryover $6.614M in Salary Cap Room to 2017

By Luke Schultheis

Oct 23, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson prior to the Colts game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 23, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson prior to the Colts game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
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According to the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), the Indianapolis Colts had $6.614M of unused cap space in 2016 that can be carried forward to next year–beginning the start of the new league year on Wednesday:

https://twitter.com/NFLPA/status/821764094596263937

Per Spotrac, taking into account the decreased projected 2016 carryover of $6.614M to their initial projection of $8.127M, it looks as though the Colts could have as much as $58M of cap space–with the 2017 salary cap projected to be around $166-170M.

However, my research seems to indicate that such a cap number could actually be in fact a lot lower as it stands–namely at around $43.3M of cap room for 2017 (at the $166M mark).

Oct 4, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay and general manager Ryan Grigson walk the sidelines before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis defeats Jacksonville 16-13 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 4, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay and general manager Ryan Grigson walk the sidelines before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis defeats Jacksonville 16-13 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

It’s worth noting that the Colts could still free up some additional cap space by releasing a number of veteran players including Art Jones ($5.15M) and D’Qwell Jackson ($5.5M) among others.

Whatever the case may be, the Colts have the cap room to land an impact player or two in free agency–particularly on the defensive side of the football.

However, the team can’t necessarily go ‘hog wild’ with their salary cap room because the team still has to consider long-term contract extensions for some of its younger core players such as offensive guard Jack Mewhort and wide receiver Donte Moncrief–who are set to become free agents after next season.

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Not to mention, other young promising defensive players like defensive end Henry Anderson and safety Clayton Geathers could be potential priorities a little further down the road after 2018.

The Colts also have a number of valuable free agents–namely safety Mike Adams, cornerback Darius Butler, tight end Jack Doyle, and outside linebacker Erik Walden, who the team could have some significant interest in re-signing.

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