Colts Sign RB Spencer Ware
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?
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
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
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
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.
Browns Move Up For Greedy Williams
Another trade-down move for Chris Ballard. The Colts agreed to a deal that gave the Browns the No. 46 overall pick.
In exchange, Indianapolis will receive Cleveland’s No. 49 pick and a fifth-rounder (No. 144). The Browns are taking LSU cornerback Greedy Williams, whom many mock drafts had going in the first round.
After intercepting eight passes in two Tigers seasons, Williams exited Baton Rouge with an All-American honor. His tackling ability has come under fire in recent weeks, and it likely at least partially contributed to the 6-foot-1 defender’s fall into the middle of the second round.
Williams, who blazed to a 4.37-second 40-yard dash clocking at the Combine, joins Denzel Ward and T.J. Carrie as a key piece of the Browns’ secondary.
Draft Notes: Broncos, Bush, Lock, Colts
The Broncos were widely connected to Devin Bush in the buildup to the draft, but they wound up trading back when they had the opportunity to draft him. Apparently, they weren’t as high on him as many believed (Twitter link via Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic).
“I don’t know if we would have taken him if we didn’t trade,” head coach Vic Fangio said. “He was certainly one of the guys we talked about, but we just felt the trade value trumped the guy we would get there.”
The Broncos didn’t necessarily feel that Bush was the right choice at No. 10 overall, but the Steelers did. That worked to Denver’s benefit, as they came away with a solid haul in exchange for moving down. Denver secured the Steelers’ No. 20 pick – which they used to take tight end Noah Fant – plus the Steelers’ second-round choice and a third-round pick next year.
While you mull the Broncos’ decision, here’s more draft news:
- Word has it thatMissouri quarterback Drew Lock went undrafted in the first round due to the nine-inch measurement on his hands (Twitter link via Howard Balzer). For comparison, this year’s first-round QBs Kyler Murray (9 1/2 inches), Dwayne Haskins (9 5/8 inches), and Daniel Jones (9 3/4 inches) proved to have larger hands at the combine. Lock was undoubtedly disappointed, but he probably won’t linger long on Friday night.
- The Colts may not be done trading back even after moving out of the first round. The idea of sliding back from the No. 34 overall pick is “attractive,” GM Chris Ballard says (Twitter link via Mike Chappell of CBS4).
Colts Trade No. 26 To Redskins
The Redskins now have another selection in the first round. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that Washington has acquired pick No. 26 from the Colts. The Redskins will send No. 46 and a 2020 second-rounder to Indy, according to ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter).
The Redskins have used their new selection on Mississippi State defensive end Montez Sweat. There were conflicting reports about the lineman’s draft stock following news about an apparent heart condition. There were rumblings that some teams removed Sweat entirely from their draft board, with some teams’ doctors noting that there isn’t an example of a player dealing with this issue in the current NFL. However, we learned yesterday that teams now believe that Sweat’s heart condition was misdiagnosed at the combine, further complicating his draft stock.
Either way, Sweat is clearly one of the most talented edge defenders in the draft. His unique combination of size and speed make him a menace on the outside, and he should continue to develop as a running-game disruptor. Despite the heart condition, Sweat managed to appear in 26 games over his final two seasons with the Bulldogs, compiling 22.5 sacks over that span. His known visits were with the Texans, Bengals, 49ers, Bills, Raiders, Packers and Buccaneers.
The Redskins have invested plenty of draft capital into their defensive line in recent years, as they selected defensive end Jonathan Allen in 2017 and defensive tackle Da’Ron Payne in 2018. Sweat should join the two players to form a formidable front-three.
The Redskins made headlines earlier tonight when they selected Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins with the No. 15 pick.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/25/19
Today’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: WR Ishmael Hyman
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed original round restricted free agent tender: OL Evan Boehm
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Waived: TE Bucky Hodges
Chiefs, Colts Interested In Frank Clark
The Frank Clark sweepstakes is heating up. The Chiefs and Colts have shown interest in the Seahawks’ edge rusher and a deal could come together early this week, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link). Rapoport also heard rumblings of the Jets being interested in Clark, but Manish Mehta of the Daily News hears that’s not the case.
A pre-draft deal would make sense for all parties involved and the Seahawks would probably prefer to have their ducks in a row well in advance of Thursday. It’s also still possible that the Seahawks will move forward with Clark, though the franchise-tagged player has indicated that he will not report to training camp without a new deal. The two sides made progress on that front in early March, but it’s not clear if things have advanced since then.
Recently, Cowboys star DeMarcus Lawrence agreed to a new $21MM/year deal, which could embolden Clark’s camp to ask for even more. The Seahawks, ideally, would like to bring Clark back after he registered 13 sacks in 2018, but the opportunity to free up cap space and net a first-round pick for his services could be too good to pass up.
After moving on from Dee Ford and Justin Houston, Clark would make plenty of sense for the Chiefs. However, his off-the-field history could give KC some hesitation given the ongoing Tyreek Hill situation. There’s also the matter of forking over a top-of-the-market deal, which should give the Colts similar pause.