The Indianapolis Colts appear willing to potentially delve into the free agent wide receiver market, as names like Danny Amendola, Alshon Jeffery, and Golden Tate remain available for any team willing to pay up.
Tate has mentioned the Colts as one of the teams he’s interested in signing with, along with the contending Rams and his hometown Titans. However, Jeffery remains on the market as well, and he will inevitably end up getting some interest before the season starts in earnest.
Jeffery might be on the wrong side of 30, but he has some productive football left in the tank, and that could get teams from all over the league interested in adding him to the mix. The Colts, coincidentally, could stand to add more experience to a depth chart in which Michael Pittman Jr. and Parris Campbell will eat up tons of snaps.
But if the Colts want to add a receiver to bolster this roster, it’s abundantly clear that Tate is a better choice when compared to Jeffery. Both due to what he can provide as a receiver in the slot and as a supporter of Carson Wentz in the locker room, Tate could give the Colts a boost the former Philadelphia Eagles standout just can’t provide at this point in his career.
Free agent WR Golden Tate's wish list includes Titans, Colts, Rams: "I'm like a fine wine: I just get better with age"https://t.co/Pi20aQb1yB pic.twitter.com/gw07KjPpGE
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) June 22, 2021
Signing Alshon Jeffery would be terrible for the Colts.
Jeffery recorded just six catches on 13 targets last season, and 2018 was the last campaign in which he even topped 500 yards receiving. There’s declining production with age, and then there’s whatever the heck this is.
Jeffery is limited to playing the X position, meaning that any snaps he gets in Indianapolis would come at the expense of one of their franchise cornerstones in Pittman. Tate would likely eat into Campbell’s playing time, which could actually be an upgrade given how Campbell has consistently missed time due to various injuries.
When Wentz was getting assaulted by leaks that seemed to sow the seeds that would eventually grow into the rancid 2020 season, Jeffery was reported by Howard Eskin to be the source of some of those links. Do you think the best way to rebuild Wentz’s confidence is to bring Jeffery back? It would have a completely adverse effect.
Jeffery is a receiver that was already lacking speed, and bringing him in off of the worst season of his career to play with a quarterback that he’s reportedly had friction with in the past at the expense of some of Indy’s younger players like Pittman would be a horrendous move by Chris Ballard.
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