HEADLINES

Indianapolis Colts News & Rumors

Colts 'Seriously' Pursued C.J. Mosley

May 7th, 2019 at 8:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the Colts have shown considerable restraint in free agency during Chris Ballard‘s three offseasons as GM, continuing this year despite the team’s league-high cap space figure, they did identify a position they wanted. They just didn’t fill it until the draft. Previously mentioned as one of C.J. Mosley‘s many suitors, the Colts made a “serious” run at the inside linebacker in March, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. Clearly, Ballard was not prepared to go as high as the Jets did — $17MM AAV — for the sixth-year linebacker. The Colts were not mentioned as a finalist for Mosley, with the Ravens increasing their offer before Mosley opted for New York.

Indianapolis wanted a three-down linebacker to pair with Darius Leonard and is encouraged by third-round pick Bobby Okereke‘s outlook early, Breer adds. Known more (at this point) for Pat McAfee’s announcement of his Colts arrival, Okereke being longer and bigger than Devin White or Devin Bush (though not by much at 6-foot-1, 239 pounds) was important to Ballard’s staff — just as Leonard’s frame appealed to the Colts last year.

  • Continuing with the Colts, the team’s decision to trade out of the first round and pick up a 2020 second-rounder in the process earned praise by multiple NFL executives as the best move of the draft, Mike Sando of ESPN.com writes (ESPN+ link). The Colts acquiring the Redskins’ 2020 second-rounder strikes the anonymous execs as a value move, given that Washington’s picks are likely to be higher than Indianapolis’ next year, and labeled moving out of a late first-round spot this year was savvy given the top-heavy makeup of the 2019 class. The Colts chose Rock Ya-Sin, Ben Banogu and Parris Campbell in the second round.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/5/19

May 5th, 2019 at 2:05pm CST by Rory Parks

Here are today’s minor moves. We’ll update this list throughout the day:

Indianapolis Colts

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Chad Kelly At Colts' Minicamp

May 4th, 2019 at 9:54pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Chad Kelly could be back on an NFL roster soon. The former Ole Miss standout passer and nephew of legendary Bills quarterback Jim Kelly has had a tumultuous road. He was kicked off the team at Clemson during his college days, and was arrested last season in a bizarre incident following Von Miller‘s Halloween party that caused the Broncos to release him. Last week we heard that he could be nearing a deal with the Colts, and we have a new development there.

Kelly hasn’t officially been signed yet, but he is attending the team’s rookie minicamp as a tryout player this week, per Mike Chappell of CBS4 (Twitter link). Kelly has struggled with injuries in addition to his off-field issues, but he managed to open the 2018 season as Case Keenum‘s backup. He played well in the preseason and had a ton of support from the team’s fanbase, and for a while it looked like he might’ve been on the verge of replacing Keenum before he was arrested. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Colts sign him as a developmental option considering current backup Jacoby Brissett is likely to pursue a starting job next offseason.

Colts Sign 5 NFL Draft Picks

May 3rd, 2019 at 6:32pm CST by Zachary Links

Thanks to trades, the Colts have a larger-than-average draft class to address. The good news is, they were able to ink half of those rookies on Friday: 

Banogu put himself on the NFL radar with two First Team All-Big 12 nods and two Honorable Mentions for Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year. In his final season on campus, Banogu notches a team-high 18 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks, which made evaluators excited about his potential. Still, many scouts feel that the ‘backer needs to add more moves to his arsenal. As the No. 49 overall pick, he’ll earn $5.9MM over the course of his four-year deal.

In other Colts news, Indy added nine undrafted free agents on Friday morning.

Colts Sign 9 UDFAs

May 3rd, 2019 at 10:41am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Colts announced their undrafted free agent class today, and it was a bit smaller than most other teams’ that we’ve seen so far. Indianapolis inked the following nine players:

The Colts clearly had positions of emphasis, as they double-dipped at three positions in only a nine member class. Peters and Rayford played alongside each other at Mississippi State, and could be battling it out for one spot in the secondary. Since the Colts already have Adam Vinatieri, Hatfield will likely be little more than a camp leg. Hart was highly productive at Georgia State, racking up 1,109 yards as a freshman and sometimes dominating in the Sun Belt. Even though the Colts added a few wide receivers this offseason, he could make some noise in camp.

Colts Sign RB Spencer Ware

April 30th, 2019 at 9:30am CST by Zachary Links

The Colts have signed running back Spencer Ware, according to a team announcement. Ware, the former Chiefs tailback, will give the Colts support at the position after they declined to address it in the draft. 

Ware, 28 in November, first made noise in 2015 when he ran for 403 yards with the Chiefs and averaged 5.6 yards per carry in a limited sample. In 2016, he was the Chiefs’ starter and amassed 921 yards with a 4.3 yards-per-tote average. His usage fluctuated over the course of three healthy years in KC, but his career 4.6 YPC shows promise.

The veteran joins former Chiefs teammate Justin Houston in Indianapolis and will push to be a top reserve behind Marlon Mack. 2018 draft picks Jordan Wilkins and Nyheim Hines are also under contract, so he’ll have his work cut out for him.

In related moves, the Colts released safety Isaiah Johnson, defensive tackle DeShawn Williams, and wide receiver James Wright (with an injury designation).

Chad Kelly Nearing Deal With Colts?

April 28th, 2019 at 10:21am CST by Rory Parks

Former Mr. Irrelevant and current free agent Chad Kelly could be nearing a deal with the Colts, as Stephen Holder of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). Holder adds that an accord between the two sides has been “percolating” for awhile.

The Broncos selected Kelly with the final pick of the 2017 draft, which seemed like a good value pick on the surface. Kelly was once considered one of the top QB prospects in the nation, but his senior season at Ole Miss was cut short by a torn ACL and lateral meniscus, and he also came with plenty of character concerns. He missed his entire rookie campaign in Denver due to wrist and knee surgeries, but he opened the 2018 season as the backup to Case Keenum. He actually may have been on the verge of displacing the struggling Keenum in the starting lineup, but a bizarre October arrest led to his ouster from the team.

Since then, all we’ve heard about Kelly is that he has pleaded not guilty to the felony trespassing charge that stemmed from his arrest. But Indianapolis is apparently willing to give Kelly a shot at reviving his professional career. Kelly could compete with Jacoby Brissett for the team’s backup QB job, and he could even stick as the No. 3 signal-caller if the club elects to carry three QBs. Brissett is entering his contract year, so the Colts may be planning for the future of its backup quarterback situation.

Tim Graham of The Athletic agrees with Holder’s report, and he says that Central Connecticut State QB Jake Dolegala, who recently talked with the Colts about signing as an undrafted free agent, pulled out because his camp learned that Indy was prepared to sign Kelly (Twitter link).

Colts To Pick Up Ryan Kelly’s Fifth-Year Option

April 27th, 2019 at 6:23pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The 2019 draft is officially in the rearview mirror. Coaches and front office heads are holding post-draft press conferences, and some news is beginning to trickle out of them.

Colts GM Chris Ballard said at his press conference that the team will pick up the fifth-year option on center Ryan Kelly‘s contract, per Joel Erickson of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). Kelly was taken by the Colts 18th overall back in 2016. This isn’t too surprising, as Kelly has been a starter since his rookie season. We don’t know the exact terms of the option yet, but it’ll pay him somewhere close to $10MM.

The fifth-year option is only guaranteed for injury, so it doesn’t actually ensure Kelly will be with the team at that price in 2020. Kelly has been a bit banged up the past couple of years, missing four games in 2018 and nine games in 2017. But he’s been solid when he’s been able to stay on the field, earning Pro Football Focus’ 14th-best grade among all centers last year.

Indianapolis’ offensive line took a major step forward last year, and was a huge part of the team’s success. Keeping Andrew Luck upright is the most important thing for the team, and they clearly view Kelly as the longterm answer at center. An Alabama product, Kelly will turn 26 next month.

Teams have until May 3rd to pick up the options on their 2016 first round picks. You can view the tracker with each team’s decision here.

Colts Trade Hassan Ridgeway To Eagles

April 27th, 2019 at 4:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

The end of this draft has not featured many trades, but the Colts found a way to snare an extra draft pick without sacrificing 2019 or 2020 draft capital.

Indianapolis instead traded defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway to the Eagles for the No. 246 overall pick, Jeff McLane of Philly.com tweets.

This marks the second straight year the Colts have traded a contract-year defensive lineman for a seventh-round pick. They shipped Henry Anderson to the Jets last year. Like Anderson, Ridgeway arrived during the Ryan Grigson regime and did so during the Colts’ years using a 3-4 scheme. A six-game starter during three Colts seasons, Ridgeway — a 2016 fourth-round selection — will head to the Eagles.

A 305-pound interior defender out of Texas, Ridgeway has 4.5 career sacks — all from 2016-17 — and played 103 snaps last season with the Colts. He will attempt to raise his pre-free agency stock in another city, as Anderson did.

The Colts now have two picks remaining — Nos. 240 and 246.

Raiders Trade No. 109 To Colts

April 27th, 2019 at 11:29am CST by Ben Levine

The Colts have moved up 20 spots. ESPN’s Field Yates tweets that Indy has acquired No. 109 from the Raiders. Oakland will receive No. 129 and No. 135.

The Colts have used their pick on Michigan State safety Khari Willis. The rookie is considered a box safety, meaning he’ll likely be tasked to cover tight ends in the middle of the field. Of course, the Colts clearly have high hopes for the safety, emphasized by them moving up 20 spots in the fourth round.

The Colts have added a pair of safeties this offseason in Derrick Kindred and Isaiah Johnson. Those two additions, Willis, and a host of other safeties (including George Odum, Rolan Milligan, and Matthias Farley) will compete for snaps behind Malik Hooker and Clayton Geathers.

Load More Posts