On The Clock: 2023 Indianapolis Colts

Any veteran quarterbacks that need a job, the Colts are hiring.  No for real.  Since the departure of Andrew Luck, the Colts have been trying to replace him with a carousel of quarterbacks at the end of their careers but haven't found any consistency.  That should be their first focus and the goal for Chris Ballard this offseason. 

2022 Record:4-12-1
GM: Chris Ballard
HC: Jeff Saturday (Current)
OC: Parks Frazier (Current)
DC: Gus Bradley

Statistical Leaders:

Offense: 30th Scoring
Matt Ryan 67.0%, 3057 14-13
Jonathan Taylor 192-861-4
Michael Pittman Jr. 99-925-4
Paris Campbell 63-623-3
Defense: 28th Scoring
Zarie Franklin 167 Tak, 12 TFL
Stephon Gilmore 11 PD
DeForest Bunkner 8 Sacks

Notable Free Agents:

Pos, Name, Age, Contract Status, 2022 Snap Count
Edge - Yannick Ngakoue (28), Void, 64.3%
S - Rodney McLeod (30), UFA, 90.6%
WR - Paris Campbell (26), UFA, 85.1%
LB - Bobby Okereke (27), UFA, 85.1%

Draft Picks:

(8) Projected Cost of Rookie Picks in 2023: $13.5m
Round 1 #4
Round 2 #35
Round 3 #79
Round 4 #106
Round 5 #140
Round 5 #164
Round 7 #223
Round 7 #238

Salary Cap:

The Colts have 12.5m in cap space heading into the 2023 season with 60 rostered players.  With the 13.5m looming as the cost of their 8 rookie picks, they have to make some moves in the form of restructuring current contracts to free up some space before the draft.  Instead of drafting a young quarterback, they have been dumping coins in the “which season quarterback could we get” machine and it hasn’t worked.  Matt Ryan is set to count for 35m against the Colts 2023 cap, and unless they can rework his deal, they are going to be behind before the season begins.

Restructure/Re-sign:

Although Ryan’s deal seems like a death sentence for the Indianapolis Salary Cap, they have a few options.  They could build in a couple of voided years into his deal and make his 10m roster bonus a signing bonus and prorate that over the voided years.  Sure, they will pay for it down the line, but that is something that Chris Ballard should consider.  Another name to look out for his DeForest Buckner.  His cap hit for 2023 is 19.75m, however the Colts can completely get out of his contract with zero cap hit if they cut him.  I know that sounds like an insane idea for a player who had a team leading 8 sacks, but if you’re willing to trade one player to sign multiple others in a rebuild, you do it. ​

Free Agency/Draft:

Let's be honest, having the 4th overall pick is nice, however, unless the Colts mortgage this draft to trade up to the #1 pick for their franchise guy (which they should have done when Andrew Luck retired) they just might do that.  However, the #4 spot will have a lot of teams who want to get back into the top of the draft and the Colts would be wise to trade back in the draft to secure more picks in this draft and in future years.  You’re likely going to ride out the 2023 season with Ryan and if you can get some draft capital in the 2024 season, you can then package up a better deal to get a franchise guy then.  ​