TY Hilton can help the Colts make history if he returns

If TY Hilton returns to the Indianapolis Colts, he has a chance to help the team do something that has never been done in league history.

The NFL is now deep into the offseason and TY Hilton is still unsigned. Additionally, the Indianapolis Colts can still use help at wide receiver and can really benefit from adding a veteran. Hilton returning to Indianapolis makes a lot of sense for everyone. However, it’s a move that hasn’t happened yet.

Chris Ballard and the Colts made clear that they wanted to get a look at the young wideouts during OTAs and minicamp and that the team also didn’t feel pressured to add a veteran since they have Reggie Wayne coaching the unit. However, if Indy is going to make the move to add a receiver, now is the time to do it.

Hilton makes sense due to familiarity, he’s played his entire 10-year career in Indianapolis, and he can still be a quality contributor. But even more incentive, Hilton has a chance to help the Colts make history if he returns.

Hilton is a few hundred yards away from 10,000 career receiving yards. If he picks up those yards with Indy, he will join Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne as 10K receivers in franchise history. That would make the Colts the first franchise in the NFL to have three receivers surpass 10,000 yards with the team.

Is history enough for TY Hilton to return to the Colts?

TY Hilton currently has 9,691 career receiving yards, all with Indy. He needs just 309 yards to reach 10,000 with the franchise. That’s not a big ask for a receiver that has gone over 1,000 yards five times in his career.

Last season was Hilton’s least-productive year of his career and he still finished with 331 yards in 10 games. So if he returns, he certainly can reach the 10K milestone. However, is history enough for Indy to bring Hilton back?

The Colts probably won’t be taking the chance to make history into consideration when deciding if they’ll bring TY back for an 11th season. While Ballard has made clear that Indy still believes Hilton can play, the decision will likely come down to two things.

The first is do the Colts feel that the young receivers on the roster are ready to contribute to winning. If Indy isn’t comfortable with the current group, they’ll probably look to TY. Then it’s a matter of if both sides can agree to a contract that makes both parties happy.

TY Hilton has already established himself as one of the best players in franchise history and the third-best receiver in Colts history. Now, with one more season, Hilton and the Colts can make history together.

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