In less than a month, NFL teams can begin signing free agents - but before that, they can exercise a franchise tag. From February 18th through March 4th, each team can tag one player set to enter free agency on their team and retain them for another year, keeping them from becoming an unrestricted free agent and being signed by someone else. There are quite a few notable free agents on the Indianapolis Colts roster, but analysts don't think the tag is an option the Colts will choose to exercise.
At CBS Sports, Tyler Sullivan argued that the Colts won't use the tag, as they already resigned all of their major players. Yet ESPN's Stephen Holder suggested that the Colts won't use the franchise tag, but that there's one candidate he thinks would be worth it if they did.
"The Colts did the heavy lifting on their in-house free agents last offseason, with Indianapolis re-signing wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., cornerback Kenny Moore II, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and linebacker Zaire Franklin. This year's class won't require nearly the same kind of investment. Their most intriguing free agent is defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo, who led the team with 33 pressures and has a combined 16 sacks in the past three seasons. But it's highly unlikely a team that's already heavily invested in its defensive line would commit more than $20 million to Odeyingbo for 2025."Stephen Holder
Odeyingbo's future in Indianapolis is unclear; while he had a standout season in 2023, he regressed in 2024 and while he was reliable enough, he was hardly a top tier defender. Of course, with Gus Bradley gone and Lou Anarumo in his place, it's entirely possible that Odeyingbo could have a resurgence. But is that possibility worth exercising a franchise tag? It's not likely.
If the Colts were to use the tag, a much better candidate than Odeyingbo would be Will Fries. One of the best offensive guards in the league, there is no shortage of interest in Fries, who is set to enter free agency. Losing Fries would be devastating to the Colts' offensive line, and the tag would be much better served on him than on literally anyone on defense.