There May Be ‘No Chance’ that the Colts Bring Back Dwight Freeney

According to ESPN’s Mike Wells, it doesn’t seem very likely that the Indianapolis Colts will sign the franchise’s former prolific pass rusher Dwight Freeney, who’s currently a free agent.

In fact, Wells goes as far in his prediction to say that there is “no chance” that the Colts bring back the veteran pass rusher:

"“I would say there is no chance that the Colts bring Freeney, who had 107.5 sacks in his 11 seasons with the team, back for a second stint,” writes Wells. “Grigson is open to a lot of things when it comes to adding players to the roster, but I’m not sure this is a path he’ll go down even with the question marks surrounding their pass rush,” adds Wells."

While it doesn’t appear that Wells is specifically citing team sources, he does seem to firmly believe that Freeney won’t be returning to the Colts anytime soon.

The 36 year old pass rusher is one of the greatest defensive players in Colts franchise history, as he ranks 2nd in career sacks (107.5) and forced fumbles (43) respectively.

Not to mention, Freeney was a Super Bowl XLI Champion, 3x 1st-Team All-Pro, 1x 2nd-Team All-Pro, 7x Pro Bowler, AFC Defensive Player of the Year, NFL Sacks Leader, and a member of the NFL 2000s All Decade Team during his 11 seasons in Indianapolis.

He recorded double-digit sacks in 7 of those aforementioned seasons with the Colts.

While Freeney would only make an aging pass rushing group even older for the Colts–one that already includes Robert Mathis (35) and Trent Cole (33), there are limited proven options available this late in the offseason.

The 14-year veteran had 8 sacks in 11 games with the Arizona Cardinals last season, as well as a sack in the playoffs. Quite frankly, he may be one of the best remaining options right now and a familiar face for the franchise.

The Colts defense tied for the 22nd least amount of sacks with just 35 total sacks last season, and their team high sack leaders had just 7 sacks a piece. In theory, Freeney’s 8 sacks would’ve led the Colts defense last year.

With Mathis and Cole already another year older, it appears unlikely that the Colts pass rush will significantly improve unless new defensive coordinator Ted Monachino can work his magic and find creative ways to generate pressure.

Otherwise, the team’s only other notable pass rushing additions are 7th rounder Trevor Bates (Maine), as well as two intriguing undrafted free agents Curt Maggitt (Tennessee) and Ron Thompson (Syracuse).

Therefore, the Colts will be heavily relying on aging pass rushers and unknowns next season, which seems like a pretty risky proposition all things considered.

That’s not to say that Freeney is the dominant force he once was; however, he can still be plenty effective as a situational pass rusher.

There’s no question that Freeney struggled in his last season in Indianapolis during 2012–one in which the Colts transitioned to their current 3-4 defense, as a standup pass rushing outside linebacker.

However, he played last season in the Arizona Cardinals 3-4 defense as a “hand in the dirt” defensive end just like always–albeit purely on passing downs:

From that perspective, Freeney wouldn’t be miscast as a standup pass rushing 3-4 outside linebacker like in his last season with the Colts.

Instead, he could take the place of defensive ends such as Henry Anderson or Arthur Jones on obvious passing downs. Both of whom are much more known for stopping the run than their pass rushing prowess anyways.

To me the issue isn’t that the Colts are “set at outside linebacker” or are already “too old” at the position because Freeney would be playing primarily as a situational pass rushing defensive end rather than a standup outside linebacker regardless (if actually utilized most effectively).

There’s a bit of a difference.

Instead of comparing him to the likes of Mathis, Cole, or whoever else, the Colts should be looking at whether Freeney as a situational pass rushing 3-4 defensive end can generate more pressure off the edge than defensive lineman such as Anderson or Jones on passing downs as mentioned.

It seems to me that he more than likely would.

In the end, the Colts brass may be too stubborn or set in their ways to bring back a player who the current regime already moved on from once. To me though, it would be less about admitting any sort of mistake regarding Freeney, as much as it is simply that he’s still surprisingly rushing the passer at a fairly high level and the Colts are in desperate need of such services.

If the price is right, Freeney would provide the Colts with a proven veteran pass rusher, who also happens to be one of the franchise’s all-time greatest defensive players.

In the past, Freeney indicated that he’d like to retire as a member of the Colts.

At this point, serious consideration should be given to make that a reality. Not because of simply sentiment, but rather for his still significant sack production: