There were some good things to come out of the offseason this year from the Indianapolis Colts, a marked difference from previous efforts made by general manager Chris Ballard... or, rather, the lack thereof. Indianapolis landed a new defensive coordinator, Lou Anarumo, who will hopefully be an improvement over Gus Bradley, signed a few exciting free agents, and a decent, if not spectacular, draft class.
But that doesn't mean there isn't more the team still needs. While the offensive side of the ball is probably about as good as it's going to get, the defense still needs help. ESPN analyst Aaron Schatz gave suggestions for one final offseason move for each team, and while he did acknowledge that the Colts need to add more to their defensive roster, he still got it... well, terribly wrong.
For Schatz, the Colts' final offseason move should be to sign safety Justin Simmons.
"The Colts added Camryn Bynum from Minnesota as their new free safety, and they still have Nick Cross, who had 146 tackles last season. But Indianapolis could use some depth at the position since Daniel Scott has never seen the field in the regular season through two seasons and Hunter Wohler is a seventh-round rookie. Enter Simmons, who started for Atlanta last season and was second-team All-Pro in 2023. Simmons would also give Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo the ability to play three-safety packages."Aaron Schatz
To put it mildly, this makes absolutely no sense.
Yes, the Colts could use a bit more depth at safety. But there has also already been one brilliant free agent brought on board to bolster the secondary, with Cam Bynum - who, by the way, is also a safety. The Colts also drafted a safety - Hunter Wohler - in the seventh round, which may not mean all that much, but between Bynum, Nick Cross, Wohler, and the other safeties already on the roster, adding another one just isn't the highest priority the Colts should have.
And Justin Simmons, at that? Simmons had some good years, but they appear to be behind him, not in front of him. If he was a superstar, that might be one thing, but to say the Colts should ignore their actual biggest need to pick up an aging defender makes no sense.
In reality, the Colts are in desperate need of a linebacker, not a safety, and what makes it even more laughable is that Schatz offered several options for linebackers, but to other teams. As it stands, the Colts basically have one reliable linebacker on the roster, and only one, so it really is difficult to understand what Schatz could possibly have been thinking with this recommendation.