Indianapolis Colts Sign Hakeem Nicks

Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

The Indianapolis Colts have been on the prowl for a quality wide receiver. This has been no secret. That’s why many wide receivers have expressed interest in going to Indy. It was also no secret that Hakeem Nicks was coming to Indianapolis today to have a meeting at the Colts compound.

The problems are that Nicks isn’t in his prime. His past two seasons have not been his best. That includes last season when he scored zero touchdowns. It leaves an organization like the Colts asking if the problem is with Nicks, Eli Manning or the offensive system.

Another problem is that Nicks had expressed that he really was interested in a multi-year deal. The Colts, however, were interested in the opposite. Nicks comes with some risk as far as ability and injury. The Colts don’t want to invest in Nicks with that risk until they’ve seen him show that he can return to his 2010-2011 self. Also the Colts are going to have to come up with big contracts for some of their star players still on rookie contracts. If they signed Nicks to more than a year, they would tie up some of their money that could be going to players like Andrew Luck.

It appears now that the Colts and Nicks found a compromise. The Colts have signed him to a one year deal worth $5.5 million. This is a little investment for a short time.

Who is the winner in this deal? I believe that both parties come out winners. Nicks needs a chance to prove himself. The Colts offer him the best environment to do that. They have a star young quarterback who will be throwing to him. He also will have great wide receivers in Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton to spread the coverage. This should hopefully get him more than enough clean look from Luck. If he can’t prove himself in Indianapolis, this may be the beginning of the end for him. He’s hoping to make it a new beginning to a superstar career.

The Colts win because they get veteran experience for little money and very little risk. They save the opportunity to offer more money to players like Andrew Luck, T.Y. Hilton, Vick Ballard and Coby Fleener.

It’s hard to find deals like this anymore in the NFL. Many times you have a winner and a loser. This is the rare occasion where you can truly say this is a win win. Hopefully ending with a Super Bowl win.