The Colts have seen plenty of key players walk out the door in free agency this offseason. Will any of them be missed next season?
Free agency has been a bit of a disappointment for Colts fans that thought general manager Chris Ballard would make a big splash with $80 million of cap space. Instead, the Colts have seen most of their top free agents leave and they haven’t made any major signings thus far.
Chris Ballard has some work to do to replace the Colts’ free agent departures.
Here are our evaluations of those players that will not be back in Indianapolis next season.
Cornerback Rashaan Melvin
Rashaan Melvin was coming off of a breakout season, and many Colts fans wanted to see if he could develop into a true shutdown cornerback in Indianapolis. Melvin signed with the Raiders for a surprisingly low price tag of $5.5 million on a one-year deal.
For that price, I would’ve definitely brought Melvin back to Indy to see if he could repeat his sensational performance from last season.
Related Story: The Colts’ Lack of Action in Free Agency is Baffling
Letting Melvin leave in free agency was disappointing, and Ballard will likely need to find some cornerback talent in the upcoming draft.
Linebacker Jon Bostic
The Colts came into this offseason with a major hole at the linebacker position, and that need has become even larger after Jon Bostic signed a two-year $4 million contract with the Steelers.
Bostic rejuvenated his career last season in Indianapolis, and I was surprised that Chris Ballard let him walk for just $2 million per year.
The Colts desperately need to improve at inside linebacker and I’m not sure there are enough available free agents or draft prospects to get that done this offseason.
Edge Defender Barkevious Mingo
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The Colts took a chance on Barkevious Mingo last season and he came through with a solid performance as a rotational pass rusher in 2017. Yet again, Ballard let him walk in free agency for a fairly cheap deal at $3.4 million a year.
I don’t think Mingo will become a star, but I probably would’ve kept him in Indianapolis at that price.
Here’s a link to part 1 of this series.
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