Wednesday brought the official start of free agency for the Indianapolis Colts. Here’s everything that happened for the team on day one of the new league year.
While it may seem like free agency has been going on for a few days now, the first official day was Wednesday, March 15. At 4:00 pm ET, the NFL’s new league year started. It wasn’t until then that all of the negotiated and reported deals and trades could become official. Monday and Tuesday were just the two days of the legal tampering period.
The Indianapolis Colts made several moves during the legal tampering period, like trading Stephon Gilmore to the Dallas Cowboys and releasing Matt Ryan, and those moves were official processed today. Indy has already re-signed some players and lost others in free agency as well. However, things are just getting started for the NFL offseason.
Teams have kept things rolling, continuing to make moves on Wednesday, including the Colts. With the first official day of free agency here, let’s take a look at the players leaving and coming to Indy, as well as the rumors surrounding Indianapolis.
Colts departures - Free agency Day 1
• Brandon Facyson, CB, Las Vegas Raiders, two-year, $2.5 million
A year ago, Brandon Facyson left the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency to join Indianapolis. He followed Indy’s defensive coordinator, Gus Bradley, who Facyson has played under his entire career. That experience in Bradley’s system gave Facyson an early edge in a cornerback battle with Isaiah Rodgers Sr.
However, fans quickly realized that Rodgers was outperforming Facyson when they were splitting snaps, and it became a mission of the fans to get Isaiah Rodgers Sr. into the starting lineup. Eventually, Bradley and the staff listened. Rodgers established himself as the starter over Facyson, and now, Facyson is returning to the Raiders.