All things considered, the Colts have done pretty well in free agency.
Arguably no team in football has been more active in re-signing their own guys, as Indy's gotten deals done with Grover Stewart, Kenny Moore, Raekwon Davis, Tyquan Lewis, and a handful of other players. They were clearly prioritizing their defensive front, keeping main core guys in place as they look to improve on a season that started with a ton of promise before being derailed by a season-ending Anthony Richardson surgery.
They even signed Joe Flacco!
Not every Colts player will be back in Indy next year – and these are the three guys who won't live up to the new contracts they signed at the beginning of March.
3 former Colts players who won’t live up to their new contracts
1. QB Gardner Minshew
Leave it to the Raiders to give a career backup $25 million. After putting together a "Pro Bowl" season in Indianapolis, Minshew cashed in and is now on his fourth team in six years.
He was serviceable as a long-term fill-in for Richardson, but as a bridge quarterback, giving Minshew 34 starts doesn't seem like the best way to build a team in Las Vegas. Maybe loses the job after a camp competition with incumbent starter Aidan O'Connell, but then the Raiders are paying their backup upwards of $20 million over two years.
The Colts don't have too many outgoing free agents on bad contracts, but this is the easiest one to spot of them all.
2. RB Zack Moss
After stints in Buffalo and Indianapolis, Moss now figures to be the main guy in Cincinnati – especially after the Bengals traded Joe Mixon to the Texans.
Moss signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Bengals, so it won't be too difficult to live up to this contract. With the way most running backs end their careers in the NFL, it's not a sure thing that'll he be in Cincinnati at the end of 2026.
He's only 26, so in theory he's got plenty of career ahead of him, but with the Colts not having too many candidates for this category, a running back who costs $8 million makes the cut.
3. WR Isaiah McKenzie
After setting a career-high in receptions (42) with the Bills in 2022, McKenzie came to Indianapolis and only played 13 games with two starts. His 11 receptions and 82 receiving yards were the worst numbers since his rookie season, and after four straight seasons with at least a touchdown, McKenzie didn't find the end zone.
Now he's with the Giants, and at this point in his career, looks mostly like a special teams guy/WR4. That's about in line with the one-year, $1.5 million deal that New York gave him, but if he produces numbers like he did last year again, even that won't be worth a second contract in 2025.