The Indianapolis Colts received some positive news on the salary cap front over the weekend, as they’re slated to have an extra $8.5 million in carry over space to work with this offseason, according to the latest projections.
This means GM Chris Ballard should have even more incentive to further bolster the roster, which he might not have felt after acquiring Carson Wentz resulted in approximately $25 million in cap space coming off the board.
Now, however, Ballard and the rest of the front office really have zero excuse not to pursue a top-tier cornerback, as Xavier Rhodes, who did wonders in terms of revitalizing his career with Indy last season, is widely expected to test free agency at the start of the new league year.
Fortunately for the Colts, however, the Patriots are currently stuck between a rock and a hard place with Stephon Gilmore’s contract, and it would behoove Ballard to look to exploit this situation as they have the requisite cap space to offer him a new-and-improved deal.
Players floated in trade talks as teams work their cap situation, via @AlbertBreer: Stephon Gilmore, Brandon Brooks, Michael Brockers, Zach Ertz, Preston Smith, Kevin Zeitler, Andrew Norwell, Geno Atkins, David Njoku, Trent Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, Kwon Alexander, LaMarcus Joyner
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 8, 2021
The Colts are in a great position to capitalize on Patriots CB Stephon Gilmore’s floundering trade market.
At this point, the Patriots are looking for any excuse to trade Gilmore it seems, and rival executives around the league believe he’ll end up getting dealt. However, the latest buzz suggests his trade market has taken a hit in light of concerns from potential suitors over his season-ending quad injury from Week14, for which he underwent surgery.
This all but confirms that New England has lost a chunk of any leverage they previously had over Gilmore, and that’s where the Colts enter the equation.
Last offseason, the Patriots were reportedly demanding a first-round pick and an impact player in return for Gilmore after he was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. However, following an injury-riddled campaign in which he also regressed in coverage (he produced a lackluster 58.8 grade from Pro Football Focus) you can’t help but feel that he’ll go for significantly less than that.
Patriots fans who are hoping Stephon Gilmore remains with the team in 2021 and beyond probably won't love this report. https://t.co/TzhuSCuREI
— NESN (@NESN) March 3, 2021
Fans in Indy are fully aware that Ballard doesn’t act in a desperate world. As the Wentz trade further confirmed, the 53-year-old exec prefers targeting players who already have one foot out the door of their current franchises, and Gilmore (like Wentz) falls right under that category.
The Colts simply cannot afford to deploy a middling secondary next season, and Gilmore would do wonders in terms of transforming it into an elite unit.
Injuries and regression aside — we like to think the two were intertwined — Gilmore is still one of the premier lockdown cornerbacks in the league, and we really wouldn’t see anything wrong with Indianapolis giving up a maybe a second- or third-rounder and then signing him to a new extension to settle their cornerback situation.
It’s at least worth a try.
Colts draft: 3 defensive backs Indy can trade back for
The Colts' best course of action would be to trade down in the draft, get back some of the picks they lost, and try to conduct a DB-heavy draft.