Indianapolis Colts Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/25/17

March 25th, 2017 at 6:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

The Colts have signed long snapper Joe Fortunato, the club announced earlier this week. Fortunato appeared in 46 games during his four-year run at the University of Delaware from 2012-15. After going undrafted in 2016, Fortunato hasn’t drawn any known interest from any other clubs, but he’ll now have a shot to stick on Indianapolis’ roster. However, Fortunato is likely to serve simply as offseason depth, as the Colts already boast Matt Overton — a five-year pro with a Pro Bowl berth under his belt — as their long snapper.

Colts Cut DL Arthur Jones

March 24th, 2017 at 10:36am CST by Zachary Links

The Colts announced that they have released defensive lineman Arthur Jones. The move will save the team $5.15MM in cap space.

Jones joined the Colts on a five-year, $33MM deal prior to the 2014 season. He never came close to living up to that contract. In the past three years, he has played in just 17 combined regular season games, including a completely lost 2015 season. This time last year, Jones took a pay cut in order to stay with the team. This time around, he’s being dropped altogether. Injuries and underwhelming production played a major role in his release, but Jones’ PED suspension in 2016 probably didn’t help his cause either.

In the short amount of time he spent on the field in 2016, Jones didn’t really deliver. In eight games, Jones tallied 30 total tackles. When his season ended on IR in December, the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus had him ranked as the No. 120 defensive tackle out of 126 qualified players.

Details On Kamar Aiken's Contract

March 23rd, 2017 at 6:16pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Wide receiver Kamar Aiken‘s one-year pact with the Colts is worth $2.6MM – $1.5MM of which is guaranteed – and features up to $600K in per-game roster bonuses, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).

Front Office Rumors: Bills, 49ers, Colts

March 23rd, 2017 at 12:09pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com brought us news on the Redskins’ GM search. Further down in his column, he presented more front office news from around the NFL. Here’s a look at the highlights:

New Bills coach Sean McDermott could convince ownership to import front office guys with whom he has a relationship. JLC floats the name of Panthers director of player personnel Don Gregory and notes that there are “already rumblings that the marriage of McDermott and Bills GM Doug Whaley” will not last.
The 49ers are also looking to add to the front office. This makes sense given that new GM John Lynch is a front office neophyte.
New Colts GM Chris Ballard may want to shake up the scouting core, but league sources tell JLC that he may have to wait a year since the evaluators that are already there have more time to go on their contracts. Still, Ballard badly wants to poach Seahawks executive Ed Dodds. If Indy can land him, he’ll probably get a promotion over his current title. Jets director of college scouting Rex Hogan is also a Ballard target, but JLC hears that he still has a good amount of time left on his contract and might be harder to pry away.
Bears exec Morocco Brown, who has history with Ballard, could be a possible candidate for the Colts and 49ers. JLC notes that Brown had a solid relationship with new SF coach Kyle Shanahan in D.C.

Vikings, Four Others Interested In Rod Streater

March 22nd, 2017 at 4:54pm CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings looking at free agent wide receiver Rod Streater, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press tweets. The Colts, Seahawks, Browns, and incumbent 49ers are also in the mix, but Tomasson says that no deal imminent.

Streater, 29, is ranked as one of our top fifteen wide receivers left on the open market. Once upon a time, Streater appeared to be on the verge of big things with the Raiders. Unfortunately, after catching 60 passes for 888 yards in 2013, he was derailed by injuries. After appearing in just four games for Oakland between 2014 and 2015, he wound up with the Niners on a one-year deal. He had 18 catches for 191 yards and two touchdowns for San Francisco while appearing in all 16 regular season games.

The Vikings have Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, Jarius Wright, and Laquon Treadwell at receiver but Streater could be brought in to compete with Isaac Fruechte at the WR5 spot. The Niners technically have ten receivers under contract, including free agent additions Pierre Garcon, Marquise Goodwin, Aldrick Robinson, and DeAndre Carter.

Colts To Sign WR Kamar Aiken

March 21st, 2017 at 8:34am CST by Zachary Links

Former Ravens wide receiver Kamar Aiken is expected to sign with the Colts, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’ll be a one-year deal, Stephen Holder of the Indy Star tweets.

Aiken, 28 in May, had only 29 receptions for the Ravens in 2016 after putting up 75 catches the year prior. Still, we had Aiken ranked the best free agent receiver heading into today, putting him ahead of notables like Victor Cruz, Brian Quick, Brandon LaFell, Anquan Boldin, Ted Ginn, and Vincent Jackson.

Exact terms of the deal are not yet known, but this could prove to be a quality value signing for the Colts. From Aiken’s perspective, however, it’s surprising that this was apparently the best opportunity he had to rebuild his value. The Colts’ passing game figures to be strong in 2017 and Aiken is probably looking forward to catching passes from Andrew Luck. At the same time, the Colts already have T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief, and Phillip Dorsett at receiver.

Before landing in Indy, the Seahawks also showed interest in Aiken.

Mychal Rivera To Meet With Colts

March 20th, 2017 at 10:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

Mychal Rivera‘s Jets meeting did not end with a contract, so Rivera will continue on as a first-time UFA. The tight end will visit the Colts next, Peter Schrager of FoxSports.com tweets.

The Colts have authored an interesting month at their tight end position, re-signing Jack Doyle and trading Dwayne Allen to the Patriots. This comes a year after Coby Fleener defected to the Saints. They have made several additions but most have come on the defensive side of the ball.

Rivera spent four seasons with the Raiders, seeing his role decline considerably. After being the Raiders’ primary pass-catching tight end in 2013-14, Rivera did not top 300 yards receiving in either of the past two seasons. He exceeded 400 as a rookie and second-year player, hauling in four touchdown passes in each season. But Clive Walford‘s arrival in Oakland in 2015 helped limit Rivera’s work. The Raiders also signed Jared Cook last week, ensuring Rivera would not be back in Oakland for a fifth season.

Indianapolis has used a two-tight end set as a primary formation throughout Andrew Luck‘s tenure. There would be opportunities for Rivera if the Colts elect to sign him, despite Doyle’s presence. The Colts also met with UFA wide receiver Kamar Aiken late last week.

Colts Sign TE Brandon Williams

March 20th, 2017 at 2:31pm CST by Zachary Links

The Colts have signed former Seahawks tight end Brandon Williams, per a team announcement. He’ll provide depth behind Jack Doyle and Erik Swoope.

The Colts have had some major turnover at the tight end position this year after trading Dwayne Allen to the Patriots. He might not factor into things as a traditional tight end, however. To date, Williams hasn’t done much on offense, but he has plenty of special teams experience. Last year, he played on 335 special teams snaps, good for second-most among all Seattle players. Meanwhile, he played 148 offensive snaps as the team’s third-string tight end.

In other Colts news, the team signed linebacker Sean Spence this week.

Colts Hosting TE Brandon Williams

March 19th, 2017 at 2:41pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Colts will take a meeting with free agent tight end Brandon Williams, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).

[RELATED: Colts Host Kamar Aiken]

Williams, 29, would slot in behind Jack Doyle and Erik Swoope on Indianapolis’ tight end depth chart, but his primarily role would probably come on special teams. As a member of the Seahawks in 2016, Williams played on 335 special teams snaps, good for second-most among all Seattle players. The Colts ranked fifth in special teams DVOA last season.

Given the Colts’ lack of depth at tight end, it’s certainly possible Williams would be able to carve out a role on offense, but that’s not something he’s done throughout his career. In four NFL seasons, Williams has managed only six receptions for 80 yards. Of his 158 offensive snaps in 2016, 123 (78%) involved blocking duty of some kind.

Contract Details: Taylor, Cook, Willson

March 19th, 2017 at 11:45am CST by Rory Parks

The latest contract details from around the NFL:

Tyrod Taylor, QB (Bills): Taylor earns an additional $500K if the Bills make it to the divisional round of the playoffs in 2017, which becomes $1MM if they advance to the AFC Championship, and $2MM if they advance to the Super Bowl. The same package of incentives applies to 2018 (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk).
Jared Cook, TE (Raiders): Two years, $10.6MM, $1.6MM in incentives (effectively a one-year $5.3MM deal with $800K in incentives) (Twitter link via Ben Volin of The Boston Globe).
Luke Willson, TE (Seahawks): One year, $1.8MM, $1MM in incentives (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle).
Kayvon Webster, CB (Rams): Two years, $7.75MM. Salaries of $2.75MM (guaranteed), $3MM. $1MM 2017 roster bonus guaranteed, $500K 2018 roster bonus guaranteed. (Twitter link via Wilson).
Sean Spence, LB (Colts): One year, $2.5MM. $750K signing bonus. $500K in incentives (Twitter link via Wilson).
Kendall Wright, WR (Bears): One year, $2MM. $250K signing bonus. $2MM in incentives (Twitter link via Wilson).

Indianapolis Colts News & Rumors