What will Colts do with extra cap space after reworking Ryan Kelly’s contract?

With just over a week remaining until the regular season kicks off, the Indianapolis Colts are working themselves back to full strength.

Carson Wentz seems to be on track to play. Quenton Nelson has returned to practice. Even Ryan Kelly and Braden Smith, who were dealing with minor injuries during training camp, are back practicing with zero limitations.

While TY Hilton and Eric Fisher are likely out the first couple games, fans should be satisfied with the health of the roster given how doom and gloom everything looked before the start of the preseason.

In light of all these injuries, however, GM Chris Ballard is wisely trying to stay ahead of the curve in case the Colts are ravaged by the injury bug again.

On Friday, the Colts converted $9 million of Kelly’s salary into a signing bonus, which freed up an extra $6.75 million in cap space.

What will the Colts do with their extra cap space after they restructured center Ryan Kelly’s contract?

Freeing up nearly $7 million in cap space is significant and indicates Ballard and the Colts are on the verge of making a move. That, or the fifth-year GM is simply giving himself the necessary flexibility to sign a player during the season or make a trade at the deadline.

Could they add another offensive lineman to the fold? Fisher testing positive for COVID-19 could delay his return. Sam Tevi tore his ACL last week and is out for the season. Will Holden was waived after his nightmare showing during both training camp and the preseason, so Indy is extremely thin at the tackle position.

The Colts are also short on wide receivers after Hilton underwent surgery and was placed on injured reserve, meaning he’ll miss at least the first three games of the year. However, the signing of Keke Coutee to the practice squad will likely be the only move they make to address the position.

What about the safety position? Probably not. Though Indy only has Khari Willis, Julian Blackmon and George Odum on the active roster, Sean Davis and Shawn Davis are stashed on the practice squad as emergency options.

The running back and defensive line positions likely won’t be tinkered with. The Colts also seem content with their current group of linebackers.

If we had to guess, we’d say this extra cap space will be used on an offensive lineman — preferably a tackle — and maybe a cornerback or wide receiver if those positional groups endure another serious injury.

Either way, keep your eyes peeled, because Ballard seems to be cooking something up behind the scenes.

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