The Indianapolis Colts’ reluctance to spend a ton of money in free agency can be looked at in one of two ways.
While the Colts aren’t bringing in a ton of difference-makers this offseason, Chris Ballard is also avoiding the common trap of paying way too much for a player that isn’t nearly as valuable as his contract states.
The Colts could use a young safety to replace Malik Hooker, a pass rusher that could help alleviate the concerns surrounding the lack of Justin Houston, and a true No. 1 wide receiver, but Ballard clearly had a price that he was not going to go over and he stuck to it.
The usual suspects, meaning teams mired at the bottom of the standings who believe that they could fix all of their problems by simply spending enough in free agency, decided to beat the Colts to the punch and acquire some top free agents.
These three players won’t be coming to the Colts, and that’s probably for the better given their contract situation.
These 3 free agents were overpaid, and the Colts lucked out by missing them.
No. 3: Rayshawn Jenkins, Jacksonville Jaguars (4 years, $35 million)
A former fourth-round pick out of Miami, Jenkins was able to assume a starting role in Gus Bradley’s defense due to Derwin James missing so much time due to injuries. Jenkins recorded 138 tackles and five interceptions over the last two seasons, with his speed serving as his biggest asset.
The Jaguars needed help just about everywhere, and they decided to use some of their cap space to make Jenkins an anchor of their defense. Unfortunately, the Jaguars must’ve only watched one year of film, as they just gave high-end money to someone without a history of success.
Rayshawn Jenkins was too expensive for the Colts.
Jenkins was a backup and special teamer for the first two years of his career, and while he was a solid safety, he was by no means the main figure in that secondary. Now he is the marquee man, in addition to CJ Henderson, on what was a horrific unit last year.
Jenkins will be a solid signing for the Jaguars, as he appears to still be trending upward. However, Jacksonville will still have one of the worst secondaries in the league next year, and Jenkins will likely not make a huge difference in that regard. At $35 million for four years, that’s a tough pill to swallow.