Analyst suggests the Colts cut this DE to get more cap space

The other two aren't much of a surprise.
Houston Texans v Indianapolis Colts
Houston Texans v Indianapolis Colts | Cooper Neill/GettyImages

As the Indianapolis Colts figure out how to rebuild from a difficult 2024 season, the inevitable free agency issue must be grappled with. The Colts have a number of free agents who could potentially be leaving, and there are certainly free agents they should consider signing as well. This is a particular issue with general manager Chris Ballard, who will need to take this opportunity to prove he's listened to criticism and is going to make changes: while Ballard typically drafts well, he is notoriously reticent to pick up free agents.

So 2025 will be an interesting offseason, to say the least. Will it be the same old story from Ballard? Will the Colts get rid of some of their dead weight in free agency, or lose some of their best players?

Analysts have been making predictions nonstop ever since the regular season ended, and a new one just dropped. Ben Rolfe, at Pro Football Network, gave a list of the top cut candidates for each team. For the Colts, three names were suggested; two, Raekwon Davis and Tyquan Lewis, aren't much of a surprise. The third, however, might be a more interesting candidate to consider.

Should the Colts keep Samson Ebukam?

Nigerian-American Samson Ebukam is an edge rusher, originally selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 2017 NFL Draft. He left for the 49ers in 2021, and signed a contract with Indianapolis in 2023. Ebukam is actually not a free agent, but Rolfe thinks the Colts should cut him anyway.

Ebukam has only played one season in Indianapolis; in 2023, he made a very good showing, with strong grades from Pro Football Focus, and a lot of optimism for 2024. However, he suffered a torn Achilles tendon over the summer, and was placed on injured reserve. That, for Rolfe, is enough to suggest the Colts could let him go - though he also said it might not be the best decision.

"The problem for the Colts with Ebukam is that 2023 was a career year, and now they face uncertainty after he missed an entire season with an injury. Therefore, making a financial decision based on that one year of success might not be wise. Additionally, if the Colts do cut him, there will likely be another team ready to pick him up almost immediately."
Ben Rolfe

Ezekiel Trezevant at SI further proved Rolfe's point, suggesting that the Jacksonville Jaguars, one of the Colts' AFC South rivals, should snag Ebukam if the Colts cut him.

The Colts are already set to potentially lose Dayo Odeyingbo, who is a free agent; though it's impossible to know if Ebukam will return to 2023 form, it would be foolish to cut Ebukam when they could also lose Odeyingbo. It would mean there are that many more holes on the defense that need to be filled, and as it stands, there are already more holes than the Colts can handle. Indianapolis might not have any say in what happens with Odeyingbo, but letting go of Ebukam would be a mistake.

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