NFL Free Agency: Why Didn’t the Indianapolis Colts Pick Up Any Baltimore Ravens?

It seemed like mere minutes after the Baltimore Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII, that the team was basically gutted from the inside out. Some players, like Ray Lewis, retired after the victory. Some players, like receiver Anquan Boldin, were traded away. However, several players from the Super Bowl champions were basically plucked from Baltimore’s nest.

Safety Ed Reed, linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and Paul Kruger, and cornerback Cary Williams, have all taken their championship rings and flew the coop, in favor of other teams. It is usual that a Super Bowl team will have their players harvested, but the Ravens were nearly picked clean in NFL free agency right off the bat. Kruger was picked up by thr Cleveland Browns right away.

One might think that a few of those defensive players would have gathered some interest from the Indianapolis Colts, but nothing really came to fruition. There were whispers that Reed may have been interested in Indianapolis, but he ended up joining their AFC South rival Houston Texans. The fact that these players worked under Chuck Pagano in Baltimore didn’t seem to help bring any of them over to the Colts. Instead, now the Colts will have to see Reed at least twice a year, for the remainder of his career.

Instead of throwing big money at big name free agents, the Colts chose to stay mostly quiet, and instead decided to stock up from other areas. Still, it would have been nice to have a few of those championship players with a horseshoe on their helmet.