Colts: Are negotiations with Darius Leonard and Braden Smith going poorly?

Fans in Indianapolis might vomit if they look at the list of Colts players that are set to hit free agency next offseason. We’ll spare you the full list, but it includes impact players like Darius Leonard, Quenton Nelson, Braden Smith, Nyheim Hines and Zach Pascal.

Taking that into account, you can understand why general manager Chris Ballard is being aggressive and trying to knock out some extensions before the regular season.

While Ballard hasn’t confirmed which players he’s negotiating with, it’s reasonable to assume Leonard, Nelson and Smith are tops on the pecking order, though Nelson’s deal could be delayed until next offseason after the Colts exercise his fifth-year option.

In any event, Ballard addressed the negotiation process with Pat McAfee this week and his comments didn’t do much to reassure the fan base. All the fifth-year GM revealed was that negotiations are being had and he’s hopeful to get them done soon.

While those comments were theoretically encouraging, should fans be concerned that negotiations with Leonard and Smith aren’t going well?

How are the Colts’ negotiations going with Darius Leonard and Braden Smith?

It’s too hard to tell at this juncture. With training camp just a couple weeks away, however, Indianapolis is running out of time to get these extensions out of the way. That isn’t to say an agreement couldn’t be reached after camp, but once that gets underway, you have to think Leonard and Smith will be focused more on football than signing a new contract.

That could derail any potential progress that’s already been made. In Ballard’s defense, the competing market for right tackles and linebackers hasn’t made his job easier. Just a few weeks ago, the Saints locked down Ryan Ramczyk to a monster five-year, $95 million deal.

In terms of the linebacker market, 49ers standout Fred Warner is due for a new extension following another excellent season. Should the Colts sit back and let San Francisco sign Warner, which would inflate Leonard’s already-steep price tag? Or should they get ahead of the eight ball and extend the former second-rounder before his AAV baseline skyrockets?

With that in mind, it’s certainly feasible negotiations have hit a snag. However, Ballard’s maintained that he wants to get Leonard and Smith signed before Week 1. If the negotiation process drags on beyond camp, fans are just going to have to accept it as reality.

Leonard and Smith are both cornerstone pieces of this franchise and we highly doubt Ballard would do anything to jeopardize their long-term futures in Indianapolis. We hate to steal the  76ers’ slogan (especially right now), but trust the process, Colts fans.

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