The Indianapolis Colts went all-in at the trade deadline this season, and one might wonder if general manager Chris Ballard is beginning to have some guilt about that. The GM's normal way of doing business before 2025 was to stand pat at the deadline. He drastically changed course this year.
Not only did Indy acquire cornerback Sauce Gardner, but the team gave two future first-round draft picks to do so. Certain things must work out now for Indianapolis for the next few seasons to be great. One is that Gardner must stay healthy and great, of course.
Still, Gardner's contract becomes very expensive starting in 2027. His cap hit is $20,953,473 that season, and increases to $36 million in 2029 and 2030. Additionally, the Colts must re-sign quarterback Daniel Jones, which will also be a costly transaction, and hope that the QB returns to the form he displayed in the first eight games.
Grover Stewart might be playing his final games for the Indianapolis Colts
All of that could mean bad things for longtime Indianapolis standout Grover Stewart. The defensive lineman has been with the team since 2017, is 32 years old, has a year left on his contract after 2025, but has a cap hit of $14.25 million. The team would save $12.25 million by releasing him next offseason.
Stewart is also having arguably his worst season since 2019. He has just half a sack, and his run stuffs are way down from last season. Even compared to his 2023 season, in which he played just 11 games (the same number as 2025 so far) due to a six-game suspension, his numbers are down.
In 2023, Stewart had more quarterback hits (eight to four), tackles for loss, and overall tackles than this season. If the defensive lineman were still 28 years old, the numbers would not be a huge concern. But since he will turn 33 during the 2026 season, they are.
Grover Stewart has remained remarkably healthy during his career, missing only two games due to injury since 2017, and not missing a game due to injury since 2018. That is still a lot of punishment to take over many years, though, and a player's performance could diminish quickly. It might be happening with Stewart.
However, the biggest issue is that the Indianapolis Colts will need to create cap space to re-sign Daniel Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce. Saving $12 million by releasing Stewart might be something Chris Ballard cannot pass up.