3 free agents Colts were wise to avoid
Colby Parkinson, Tight end
While the Colts probably could have used an upgrade at the tight end position, they were wise not to overspend on a guy like Colby Parkinson, who signed a three-year, $22,500,000 deal with the Los Angeles Rams.
Parkinson spent the first four seasons of his career with the Seattle Seahawks, and he's never compiled more than 322 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a single season. Of the course of his career so far, Parkinson has a total of 57 receptions, 618 yards and four touchdowns.
Numbers are never the whole story, but those numbers certainly don't scream of a guy who deserves a multi-year deal worth over $20 million. This year's free agent class of tight ends was pretty slim, but still, at that point it seems like taking a flyer on an inexperienced second of third-year guy, or even taking a tight end through the draft, would be a preferable option.
Ultimately, the Parkinson deal seems like one the Rams could come to regret, and the Colts were wise not to pursue such a deal.
Christian Wilkins, Defensive tackle
Like Ridley, Wilkins' inclusion on this list isn't an indictment on his skills, but rather to the size of the deal he signed. The Las Vegas Raiders signed Wilkins to a four-year, $110 million deal, including $57.5 fully guaranteed. That's a whole lot of bread for a guy who has never even been named to a Pro Bowl.
Wilkins' durability should be commended, as he played in all 17 games for the Miami Dolphins in each of the last three seasons, and at 28 years old he should still have some good football in front of him. However, this also seems like a deal that the Raiders could come to regret. The Colts, meanwhile, don't have to worry about the possibility of regret here.