Chris Ballard and the Indianapolis Colts will likely be one of the most active teams in this unusual NFL offseason, as they have tons of cap space with which to improve the complexion of this roster.
The AFC South might be, as a collective, the weakest division in the league. The Tennessee Titans are on the verge of losing several players in addition to offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, the Jacksonville Jaguars are kicking off an extensive rebuild likely centered around Trevor Lawrence, and the Houston Texans are a mess of biblical proportions.
The Colts have a chance to truly cement themselves as top dogs in the conference, and they could look to use some of their former rivals in order to do so.
Indianapolis has holes in the secondary, at wide receiver, and in their pass rush, and they could fix them by signing these three AFC South free agents.
These 3 division rivals could really help the Indianapolis Colts.
3. S Josh Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jones is a 6-2, 220-pound safety who looked like he could’ve been a long-term fixture on the Green Bay Packers. However, the second-rounder was cut after two campaigns right before the 2019 season, and a poor year in Dallas all but ruined his value. Jacksonville helped save his football career, as he started 13 games for the Jaguars while totaling 83 tackles and one interception in 2020.
Jones has uncommon size for this position, and one of the few defensive innovations Jacksonville showed last year was using Jones like a chess piece that can be moved all around the board. Matt Eberflus would have a field day with him.
How would Josh Jones help the Colts?
Jones might not be the most natural of deep safeties, but he can hold his own. With Malik Hooker a free agent and the current draft class of safeties disappointing right now, Jones could be a cheap alternative that can play a traditional strong safety role next to Julian Blackmon.
The coverage may suffer a bit with Jones in the lineup, but Eberflus has never been one to shy away from versatility. Jones could stand out in a variety of sub packages for the Colts, making their defense much deeper without having to pay an obscene amount of money for a Hooker replacement.