2017 Colts - Free Agency

INDIANAPOLIS - After basically taking a year off and saving on cap space GM Phil Emery came out swinging after putting together a Superbowl winning team. If the Colts could afford to do nothing and still win it all, again, it's frightening to think about what could happen in 2017 after making a huge splash in free agency.

PRE-FREE AGENCY NEGOTIATIONS

Technically the biggest signing happened before someone could become a free agent as Andrew Luck agreed to a massive extension that will leave Colts fans happy for years to come. Luck agreed to a 7-yes $225 million deal that should see him spend the rest of his career in Indianapolis, easily the best signing of the year.

Not to be overlooked, but Khalil Holmes also signed a long term deal, although for much less money than Luck, but 6-years for $35.9 million is a good deal for one of the best centers in football. With Indianapolis sporting the best offensive line in the league it made sense to lock up their leader and captain.

OLB Bjoern Werner also agreed to a long term deal, 4-years for $8.8 million, which seems to indicate that management is happy with him for the long run.

Some of Emery's spending was fueled by who the Colts decided not to bring back. A number of players were informed that they would not receive offers, and the Colts roster will look very different this year. FS LaRon Landry, DT Terrance Knighton, MLB Kelvin Sheppard, TE Jacob Tamme, OLB Erik Walden, DE Ricky-Jean Francois, HB Justin Forsett, and HB Marcus Lattimore were allowed to hit the open market.

FREE AGENCY

While Emery came out swinging, he didn't spend blindly or fight for the big names. In fact, the Colts landed a number of deal by laying low and seeing how the market played out. The first domino to fall was SS Johnathan Cyprien, mostly because the market was so overheated for pass defenders, and Emery managed to land him for 3-years and $15 million. That looks great considering that SS J.J. Wilcox (5-year $42 million) was scooped up by Buffalo, FS Tyrann Mathieu (6-year $43 million) went back to Arizona, and FS Kenny Vaccaro (5-year $56 million) landed a princely sum with Washington.

Indianapolis also landed MLB Manti Te'o on a very nice deal, 4-years for $8.5 million, that helped give the Colts one of the most solid LB corps in the NFL. The CB market also saw a number of teams fighting fiercely over big names, Darrelle Revis landed in San Diego for a whopping 1-year $10 million deal and Miami went all out on Desmond Trufant to the tune of $58 million over 5 years. This allowed the Colts to swoop in and sign Dee Milliner for a pittance at 4-years $8 million.

The final pieces came on offense near the end of the first week of free agency. With most teams out of cap space, the Colts were free to swoop in on some under appreciated players. The biggest grab was WR Keenan Allen (5-year $25 million), who will provide the Colts with a big body receiver to compliment T.Y. Hilton. Emery also added WR Terrence Williams, Kelvin Benjamin, and HB Ronnie Hillman on cap-friendly deal.

With so much quality spending going on, it looks like there won't be much pressure on management to find starters in the draft. While it would have been good to find a long term solution at DT, this team looks to be so good it won't matter.

2016 Colts - Free Agency

INDIANAPOLIS - Free agency started and went with barely a wimper at the Colts offices. It's hard to tell, and nobody would confirm it, but management didn't even come in to the office until it was time to start talking about the draft. Ownership can rest knowing they are the champions, but things are going to get tough financially.

PRE-FREE AGENCY NEGOTIATIONS

After splurging on free agent last year, the Colts found themselves in a situation where they would need to show some serious restraint, but they also ended up in a sticky situation. Due to financial concerns, an enormous number of starters were allowed to leave without receiving an offer from the Colts. It was hard, but necessary, and GM Phil Emery wasn't happy to see them go.

Indianapolis decided to part ways with Trent Richardson, Dwayne Allen, Prince Amukamara, Brandon Spikes, William Moore, Coby Fleener, Vick Ballard, and Darius Butler. The saddest, and hardest, move was letting Reggie Wayne walk. The long-time Colts favorite is just not part of their future plans, so they had to make the decision to let him either retire or sign on elsewhere.

The only players to sign new contracts were T.Y. Hilton and Andrew Luck... in a sense. Thanks to the financial situation, the Colts were not able to come up with the money for a long-term contract with Luck, so the team was forced to use the franchise tag in the hopes that next season will allow them to lock him up.

FREE AGENCY

Indianapolis, as expected, was basically inactive during free agency. With Ballard leaving town the team needed to look for some HB depth, so they landed on a short term contract with Marcus Lattimore. He figures to be the 2nd HB on the depth chart behind Justin Forsett.

It was smart of Emery to let so many guys walk, as they landed some hefty contracts elsewhere. Richardson ended up signing a 5-year $25.8 million contract with the Giants, Amukamara signed a 5-year $56 million deal with the Dolphins, and Allen cashed in big time by signing a 7-year $61 million deal with Washington.

The Colts have a number of holes to fill on both sides of the ball, but they just didn't have the cap space to take care of it now. The draft will have to be their source of salvation.

2015 Colts - Pro Bowl Selections

GLENDALE - With the Superbowl matchup decided it was time to reveal the Pro Bowl selections. As expected, with the best offense in the league, an avalanche of Colts players were selected. While the Colts defense has been excellent as a whole, one one Colts defender would make his way to Arizona.

OFFENSE

QB Andrew Luck
HB Trent Richardson
WR T.Y. Hilton
WR Cecil Shorts III
TE Dwayne Allen
LT Anthony Castonzo
LG Jack Mewhort
C Khalid Holmes
RG Donald Thomas
RT Brandon Fusco

DEFENSE

CB Prince Amukamara
P Pat McAfee

No surprises on offense, everyone selected was dominant all season. The Colts offensive line was so solid, you can't have the league's best passing and rushing offense without an offensive line that plays at an elite level. The rest of the league should be frightened as this group should be together for some time.

Defensively there were probably some deserving of an invitiation, specfically Vontaze Burfict, but only Prince Amukamara made it. Amukamara snagged 9 interceptions, so it was hard to ignore him. Hopefully next year will see more Colts defenders.

2015 Colts - Free Agency

INDIANAPOLIS - The Colts dove into free agency and became one of the most active teams this year. New GM Phil Emery did his best to throw a hay maker at all of their roster problems, mostly focusing on the defense that let the team down so often last season.

PRE-FREE AGENCY NEGOTIATIONS

The Colts declined to re-sign a few starters and contributors, letting Corey Redding, Jurrell Freeman, and Ahmad Bradshaw test free agency. The team opted to bring back Reggie Wayne and Darius Butler on one-year contracts and focus the bulk of their spending on LT Anthony Castonzo. Castonzo agreed to a 5-year $32.5 million deal which will keep him protecting Andrew Luck's blindside for some time. Emery also inked FB Stanley Havili, P Pat McAfee, and MLB Kelvin Sheppard to multi-year deals.

Castonzo should finish his career in Indianapolis.

It wouldn't be free agency without a little drama as WR Da'Rick Rogers rejected the Colts' initial offer and decided to test the market. Rogers, who was seen as a key replacement for the aging Wayne, put the Colts in a bad position regarding WR depth. The Colts were then forced to look at free agent receivers with only three on the current roster.

FREE AGENCY

Indianapolis went into free agency with numerous positions of need; WR, FS, SS, RG, RT, LE, DT, and LB. Emery basically managed to nail all of these with some bargain deals and one blockbuster. Surprised to see the 24 year old OLB Vontaze Burfict hit the market, the Colts threw the kitchen sink at him and landed a potential superstar. The Colts were missing a powerful pass rusher after the trade of Robert Mathis, and inking Burfict to a 7-year $100 million deal filling that need for quite some time.

Burfict hitting the market was a huge surprise.

The Colts loaded up on reasonable 4-year offers to strengthen the offensive line, WR corps, and defense. WR Cecil Shorts III ($12 million), RG Brandon Fusco ($36 million), RT Chris Hairston ($25 million), and MLB Akeem Dent ($15 million) fill some serious roster holes. Da'Rick Rogers, probably wishing he had accepted the Colts initial offer of 4-years for $20 million agreed to the same length at $16 million after failing to generate much interest.

Free Agency did not go well for Rogers.

Shorter term deals for SS William Moore and HB Justin Forsett made preparing for the draft even easier. With 9 picks in the draft thanks to trades, the team would have plenty of opportunities to paper over the roster cracks.

2014 Colts - Post Season / Awards

INDIANAPOLIS - The Colts ended their season on a very sour note, but despite failing to make the playoffs there were numerous signs of improvement and growth. The name of the game for 2014 was regression, massive amounts of regression, as a team that performed well according to advanced metrics failed to live up to it's win potential. Previous seasons saw a flawed Colts team go 11-5 and defy the projections, but this season was different.

Offensively, the Colts were amazing. They finished ranked 2nd in Offensive DVOA thanks to finishing 1st in total yards, 1st downs, and 4th in points per game. Despite surrendering back breaking scores and finishing 8-8 they actually improved their Defensive DVOA to 10th thanks to leading the league in yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, and sacks. They finished 4th in passing yards allowed and 9th in points per game, but they were one of the worst (30th) in turn over differential at -10. The lack of turnovers could be attributed to bad luck, but the Colts failed to force fumbles and relied heavily on interceptions.

Finishing 8-8 is hardly good news, but there is a silver lining for the 2014 Colts when it comes to awards. The biggest news was the announcement that Andrew Luck was names the NFL MVP, his first such award and probably not his last. Even with various injuries to his receiving core Luck managed to lead the NFL in passing yards (4686) and TD passes (31).

Luck's first MVP award shouldn't be his last.

Luck was also named to the Pro Bowl roster along with two other Colts players. Trent Richardson managed to prove doubters wrong with a solid season, finishing 4th in rushing yards (1391) with 12TD. Dwayne Allen, Luck's favorite target, was also named to the Pro Bowl with the 3rd most receiving yards in the NFL (1185) and a whopping 102 receptions to lead the Colts and the league.

2014 Colts - Playoff Results / Colts Hire Phil Emery As GM

INDIANAPOLIS - The 2014 NFL season came to a close last night, and Colts fans have a few things to be happy about. After spending the bulk of his Hall of Fame career in Indianapolis it was not surprising that so many Colts fans would take pleasure in seeing Peyton Manning win his second Superbowl, this time with Denver. The Broncos defeated the Green Bay Packers 37-17 to cap off the 2014 season, Colts fans can only hope they will be there next year.

NFL Standings - Updated: Dec 28, 2014
NFC EAST	W	L	T
Philadelphia Eagles - Y	11	5	0
NFC NORTH	W	L	T
Detroit Lions - Y	11	5	0
NFC SOUTH	W	L	T
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Z	15	1	0
NFC WEST	W	L	T
San Francisco 49ers - Y	12	4	0
NFC WILD CARD RACE	W	L	T
Seattle Seahawks - X	9	7	0
Green Bay Packers - X	8	6	0
AFC EAST	W	L	T
Buffalo Bills - Y	11	5	0
AFC NORTH	W	L	T
Baltimor Ravens - Y	11	5	0
AFC SOUTH	W	L	T
Houstan Texans - Y	11	5	0
AFC WEST	W	L	T
Denver Broncos - Z	14	2	0
AFC WILD CARD RACE	W	L	T
Cleveland Browns - X	9	7	0
San Diego Chargers - X	9	7	0

Despite being happy for Manning, Colts fans were probably even happier to find out that MSMG hired Phil Emery away from the Chicago Bears to be General Manager. News leaked via Twitter, similar to the firing of Grigson, but this announcement was met with much applause.

Emery, who hired Marc Trestman, set Chicago in a different direction. He is well known for his no-nonsense press conferences and innovative approach to team management. He has already stated that the organization is due for an overhaul from the front office to the player's meals. It's likely that Emery, who plans to meet with Chuck Pagano immediately, will push for changes similar to those Chip Kelly brought to Philadelphia and guide their player management practices in a new direction. No word yet on whether smoothies will be involved even though a reporter asked Emery about it during his first press conference.

Emery addresses the media for the first time as Colts GM.

Emery takes over with free agency and the NFL Draft looming, it's hard to say what direction he will take the team in but it's clear that something needs to change to get over a disappointing 8-8 season. The Colts have a significant amount of cap space thanks to trades and expiring contracts, but there are so many roster needs it's doubtful that they will max out their payroll in an attempt to win immediately.