Colts Notes: Luck, Anderson, Barrett
It was reported over the weekend that Colts quarterback Andrew Luck drew trade interest from teams as far back as the 2017 trade deadline. Team owner Jim Irsay addressed those rumors, saying teams were willing to part with a small fortune to acquire the quarterback, Fox 59’s Mike Chappell writes.
“Trust me, there were people who would have given an unprecedented amount of draft picks – all with the No. 1 behind them – for him,’’ Irsay said. “And we wouldn’t even think of even drifting in that direction. He’s our guy. We feel 100 percent confident he’s going to come back and lead this football team with some of the new teammates . . . to great things.”
Though he missed the entire 2017 season and has yet to resume throwing, Luck would still almost assuredly force teams trying to acquire him to give up multiple No. 1s and then some. A franchise quarterback who is just 28 years old rarely if ever pops up on the market. Not that there is a market, as the Colts reportedly laughed off inquiries at the time.
Luck led the Colts to an 11-5 mark and the playoffs in each of his first three seasons before missing half of the 2015 season with an injury. He returned and played 15 games the following campaign, going 8-7 and just missing the postseason. Though he was reportedly close to throwing a ball in January, Luck told reporters in early April that he has yet to throw an NFL-sized ball and is not rushing it.
Here’s more with the Colts:
- In addition to laughing off trade requests, team general manager Chris Ballard told reporters about trading Andrew Luck — “I’m not putting that on my resume,” Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk writes. Though Irsay notes teams were willing to give up a king’s ransom for the quarterback, Ballard didn’t seem to be interested in the move no matter the cost.
- On Saturday, the Colts shipped defensive lineman Henry Anderson to the Jets in exchange for a seventh-round pick. Addressing the trade, Ballard said the deal was based on scheme fit, saying Anderson worked better with the Jets than Indy, Chappell tweets.
- Ballard also added that the team is bringing in former Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett for rookie minicamp and that he is not signed to the team, Chappell tweets. Barrett registered one of the greatest runs as a Buckeye, setting the school record with 38 victories, becoming the team’s only three-time captain and leading the team to a 4-0 record over rival Michigan.
Bills Offered Broncos Two First-Rounders?
When the Browns chose Denzel Ward at No. 4 instead of Bradley Chubb, that nixed a Broncos-Bills trade. And Mike Klis of 9News reports Buffalo was set to give up both its No. 12 and No. 22 picks, in addition to a second-round selection, for the right to move up to No. 5.
Instead, the Broncos passed and chose Chubb, whom Klis notes the team had tied with Saquon Barkley as being the top player in the draft. But the Bills were also willing to part with one of their second-rounders — either No. 53 or No. 56 — in a deal that was going to involve Denver sending Buffalo one of its third-round choices (either No. 71 or No. 99).
So, the Broncos valued the N.C. State-honed pass rusher immensely, passing on additional first- and second-round picks in order to stay put.
The Bills’ package sent to the Buccaneers, for the right to draft Josh Allen at No. 7, included both second-rounders and a seventh-round selection. The offer to the Broncos containing the No. 22 choice — which Buffalo used to trade up and select Tremaine Edmunds — runs counter to a report from earlier on Thursday indicating Brandon Beane wasn’t willing to part with both of his first-round picks. But that report surfaced before the draft began; the events of the opening hour Thursday night could have changed things.
The Colts also called the Broncos about moving up to select Chubb, Klis reports, but John Elway elected to stay put and attempt to load up his team’s edge-rushing contingent. As for what was going to transpire if the Browns took Chubb and the Bills suddenly pulled their offer, the Broncos were likely to select either Quenton Nelson or Roquan Smith, per Klis.
Sam Darnold remained the quarterback Elway preferred, with Klis reporting the Broncos had cooled on Baker Mayfield to the point they wouldn’t have taken him at No. 5. While that didn’t end up mattering, it could be notable if Allen or Josh Rosen end up being long-term answers for their respective teams. The Broncos dropped out of the Kirk Cousins derby and signed Case Keenum to a two-year deal, making it less likely they were going to use their top offseason resource on another quarterback, and were not closely linked to either Allen or Rosen late in the pre-draft process.
Teams Contacted Colts About Luck Trade
For the second straight year, the Colts exit draft weekend unsure of exactly when their franchise centerpiece will be ready to throw again. But they did not select a passer and appear confident Andrew Luck will be ready at some point in the coming months.
But that didn’t stop teams from inquiring about the rehabilitating quarterback. Jim Irsay said the Colts received inquiries about what it would take to acquire Luck. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), one of these calls came about a year ago. Rapoport notes the Colts laughed at this potential deal and moved on quickly through a year that was the most disappointing of Luck’s career.
Chris Ballard said some of the Luck trade overtures emerged just before last year’s trade deadline, per Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star (via Twitter).
Irsay insisted Luck will be fully cleared for all football-related activities by training camp. While we’ve heard the owner express confidence regarding his starting quarterback before, only for it to lead to disappointment, the Colts’ actions this weekend and this offseason support Luck being on schedule to begin throwing at some point.
However, considering we’re approaching May and it hasn’t happened yet, the timetable is condensing to where the franchise will likely need to see something fairly soon to remain optimistic Luck will be back in time for this season.
Colts Trade Henry Anderson To Jets
Drafted three years ago to play in a 3-4 scheme for the Colts, Henry Anderson is on the move to a familiar defense.
Now set to use a 4-3 look, the Colts shipped the interior defender to the Jets in exchange for a seventh-round pick, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Indianapolis will receive the No. 235 overall choice.
Anderson served as a starter for most of his time with the Colts, including eight games with the first unit last season. He only played in nine games, however, and has never exceeded 11 in a season. The 2015 third-round pick, who registered a career-high two sacks last season, has one year remaining on his rookie contract.
The Colts took two defensive linemen in this year’s draft in Kemoko Turay and Tyquan Lewis (both in Round 2) and signed Denico Autry from the Raiders in free agency. The Jets released Muhammad Wilkerson and bypassed the D-line class in free agency to this point. They did select Division II dynamo Nathan Shepherd in Round 3 on Friday.
Raiders Trade Up To 140, Take Maurice Hurst
A day after taking a first-round talent whose stock plummeted, the Raiders have repeated the practice. And it took another trade to do so.
Per Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area (on Twitter), Oakland surrendered its Nos. 159 and 185 overall selections to trade into Indianapolis’ No. 140 slot, where Maurice Hurst Jr. became the pick.
The Michigan interior pass rusher was viewed as one of the top interior defensive linemen in the draft, but heart issues caused him to fall to this juncture of the draft. Hurst will join Arden Key as defensive linemen heading to Oakland. Jon Gruden‘s team is ready to gamble on some boom-or-bust talent in hopes of creating a better supporting cast for Khalil Mack, whose team has lacked such a contingent for a while now.
Hurst was given clearance from his heart condition, one that emerged at the Combine, recently. But teams still stayed away until Day 3. Nevertheless, the Michigan defensive tackle combined to register 24.5 tackles for loss over the past two seasons, and the Raiders have struggled to generate interior pressure for years now. Top inside rusher Mario Edwards is entering a contract year as well.
Browns Trade No. 64 Pick To Colts
The Colts moved back into the second round and will make the final pick. They acquired the Browns’ No. 64 overall choice to do so.
One of the picks acquired in the 2016 Carson Wentz trade now goes to the Colts, who used it to draft Ohio State defensive lineman Tyquan Lewis.
Indianapolis will send its third-round pick, No. 67, to Cleveland, which also will receive a sixth-rounder (No. 178), per Nate Ulrich of ohio.com (on Twitter). Lewis served as a consistent weapon for the Buckeyes, going back to Joey Bosa‘s final season. Lewis combined to register 23 sacks from 2015-17, never dropping below 7.0 sacks in those seasons.
Eagles Trade Up, Acquire Colts’ No. 49 Pick
The Eagles will make their first pick in this year’s draft, moving up into the Colts’ No. 49 slot to do so, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
With this newfound draft real estate, the defending Super Bowl champions will add to their tight end mix by drafting Dallas Goedert. They may well have made this move to slide in front of the Cowboys, who pick at No. 50, with Jason Witten likely to retire.
Brett Bensley of Fox 59 tweets the Eagles will send the Colts the No. 169 selection in order to move up three spots and select the South Dakota State pass-catcher. Goedert will join an Eagles team that released Brent Celek last month.
As for the Cowboys, they were mentioned as being interested in Courtland Sutton — who went at No. 40 to the Broncos — and are likely set to see their franchise’s all-time great tight end go into broadcasting.
NFL Draft Rumors: Bills, Broncos, Chubb
Day 1 of the NFL Draft is in the books, but there are plenty of big-name players left on the board. As Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link) notes, quarterback Mason Rudolph, running back Derrius Guice, tight end Dallas Goedert, offensive lineman Connor Williams, defensive tackle Maurice Hurst, wide receivers Anthony Miller, D.J. Chark, and Courtland Sutton, defensive ends Harold Landry and Sam Hubbard, and cornerbacks Josh Jackson and Isaiah Oliver are all available as we get set for the second round.
Here’s the latest NFL Draft news:
- The Bills and Broncos had agreed to a trade based on who was available; but Broncos decided not to pass up on Bradley Chubb at No. 5 overall, Schefter tweets. Things worked out just fine for the Bills, however, as they were able to move up to the No. 7 spot to select quarterback Josh Allen. The move to No. 7 cost the Bills the No. 12 pick and a pair of second-rounders (No. 53 and No. 56), but they did not have to part with the No. 22 pick, which they later used to move up to No. 16 for linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
- The Bears surprisingly tried to trade up from the No. 8 pick, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. It’s not clear who they were targeting, but they were able to land Georgia’s Roquan Smith, who many feel has the potential to be a top-tier inside linebacker.
-
Colts GM Chris Ballard says he had an opportunity to trade back from No. 6, but the team would have had to move back too far for their comfort (Twitter link via Mike Chappell of CBS4). Ultimately, they stood pat and landed Quenton Nelson with the sixth pick.
- The Colts had Smith and Nelson close on their board, but they ultimately favored Nelson because of the need to protect quarterback Andrew Luck, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets.
-
Browns GM John Dorsey says about half a dozen teams wanted to trade up to No. 4, but the value never was attractive enough for him to pull the trigger (Twitter link via Mike Jones of USA Today). The Browns arguably could have traded down and still landed Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward, but they apparently did not want to take that chance.
Browns, Colts Lead League In Cap Space
The Browns and Colts have the most cap room of any team in the NFL heading into draft, as Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes. Here’s the official rundown of every team’s cap space for 2018 on the eve of draft weekend:
- Browns – $69.5MM
- Colts – $59.8MM
- 49ers – $43.8MM
- Titans – $35.8MM
- Texans -$35.6MM
- Bears – $24.1MM
- Jets – $21.9MM
- Bills – $19.4MM
- Jaguars – $18.6MM
- Cardinals – $18.1MM
- Redskins -$17.1MM
- Bengals – $16.8MM
- Packers – $16.2MM
- Vikings – $15.5MM
- Broncos – $14.6MM
- Patriots – $13.8MM
- Buccaneers – $12.3MM
- Cowboys -$11.9MM
- Chargers – $11.4MM
- Lions – $9.4MM
- Giants -$9.4MM
- Ravens – $8.8MM
- Seahawks – $7.6MM
- Chiefs – $6.7MM
- Saints – $5.7MM
- Panthers – $5.2MM
- Dolphins – $2.9MM
- Eagles – $2.2MM
- Steelers – $2MM
- Raiders – $1.8MM
- Falcons – $1.3MM
- Rams – $264K
Colts Release RB George Winn
- The Colts announced that they’ve released running back George Winn with a failed physical designation.