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Indianapolis Colts News & Rumors

2017 NFL GM Search Tracker

January 9th, 2017 at 4:41pm CST by Zachary Links

Two clubs — the Colts and 49ers — are now looking for new general managers. We’ll keep track of all developments related to those two vacancies in this post. It can be found on the right-hand sidebar under “PFR Features.”

[RELATED: 2017 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker]

Listed below are the GM candidates that have been linked to Indianapolis and San Francisco, along with their current status. Here’s the current breakdown:

Updated 1-29-17 (8:30pm CT)

Indianapolis Colts

San Francisco 49ers

Trent Cole Wants To Play In 2017

January 7th, 2017 at 12:27pm CST by Ben Levine
  • 35-year-old Trent Cole recently indicated on Twitter that he wants to play in 2017. The veteran was solid in his seven games with the Colts this season, compiling 17 tackles and two sacks. The long-time Eagles standout is set to be a free agent this winter, and Kevin Bowen of Colts.com says the team’s desire to get younger may prevent Cole from returning to Indy.

    [SOURCE LINK]

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/6/17

January 6th, 2017 at 5:56pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2017 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters.

Chicago Bears

Indianapolis Colts

  • K Devon Bell

New Orleans Saints

Washington Redskins

Colts To Retain Chuck Pagano, Ryan Grigson

January 6th, 2017 at 9:07am CST by Zachary Links

Bad news for Colts fans who were hoping for a change. The team will be bringing back coach Chuck Pagano, according to Alex Marvez of the Sporting News (on Twitter). Meanwhile, we can expect the same for GM Ryan Grigson, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Chuck Pagano 2 (vertical)

Last month, owner Jim Irsay downplayed the possibility of a shakeup in the front office and on the sidelines.

“I would say it would be unlikely for any changes to occur, honestly. It’s unlikely, but look, we’ll see when we sit down and thoroughly vet the season,” Irsay said.

Pagano has a 49-31 record in his five seasons with the Colts. After starting off with three 11-5 seasons, the Colts have now finished .500 in the last two campaigns. The Colts aren’t fond of that trajectory, but the first five years of the Pagano/Andrew Luck regime has gone better than the first five years of Peyton Manning‘s career in Indianapolis under Jim Mora and Tony Dungy. Overall, Irsay feels that the team is still moving in the right direction.

Last January, Grigson was extended through the 2019 season, despite the team missing the playoffs in 2015. He’ll continue to work under that deal, but it sounds like 2017 will be a make-or-break year for both Grigson and Pagano.

Impending FA Darius Butler Prepared To Switch To Safety

January 2nd, 2017 at 9:43pm CST by Ben Levine
  • Impending Colts free agent defensive back Darius Butler told Stephen Holder of the Indy Star (on Twitter) he’s ready to transition full time to safety. Butler finished the season with 27 tackles, three interceptions, and one forced fumble.

    [SOURCE LINK]

2017 NFL Draft Order

January 2nd, 2017 at 8:04am CST by Zachary Links

The Browns almost blew it yesterday. In the regular season finale, the Browns took the Steelers to overtime before ultimately losing 27-24. Had they won, the Browns would have been picking at No. 2 instead of the top position. Meanwhile, the Jaguars nearly slipped to No. 5, but they held their ground in the draft order when they lost 24-20 to the Colts. Phew.

The playoffs will help determine the bottom 12 picks, but the draft order has now been set for most of the NFL. Here is the list, with ties being broken by strength of schedule:

1. Browns (1-15)

2. 49ers (2-14)

3. Bears (3-13)

4. Jaguars (3-13)

5. Titans (via the 4-12 Rams)

6. Jets (5-11)

7. Chargers (5-11)

8. Panthers (6-10)

9. Bengals (6-9-1)

10. Bills (7-9)

11. Saints (7-9)

12. Browns (via the 7-9 Eagles)

13. Cardinals (7-8-1)

T-14. Eagles (via the 8-8 Minnesota Vikings)

T-14. Colts (8-8) (Note: The Vikings and Colts have identical records and the same strength of schedule. The tie will be broke by coin flip with the winner getting pick No. 14 and the other team getting the No. 15 pick.)

16. Ravens (8-8)

17. Redskins (8-7-1)

18. Titans (9-7)

19. Buccaneers (9-7)

20. Broncos (9-7)

Coaching/GM Notes, Pt. 1: Pagano, Payton, Kelly

January 1st, 2017 at 10:48am CST by Rory Parks

We heard earlier today that Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak is likely to step down while the Bears are expected to retain head coach John Fox and GM Ryan Pace. Let’s take a look at some other coaching and GM rumors from around the league, which are so abundant that we will split this post into two parts. Part 2 can be found here.

  • Colts owner Jim Irsay has attempted to downplay the notion that head coach Chuck Pagano and/or GM Ryan Grigson are on the hot seat, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Irsay has been “very unhappy” with his team’s performance, and coaches within the organization believe that change is coming. It appears as if Pagano’s job is certainly in jeopardy, although it remains unclear whether Grigson could be fired as well. Irsay could not be reached for comment.
  • There is “mutual interest” between the Rams and Saints head coach Sean Payton, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who reports that the ball is in New Orleans GM Mickey Loomis‘ court. If Loomis decides he’s willing to part with Payton for moderate compensation, Payton would be the clear front-runner to take over in Los Angeles. And if the Saints do move on from Payton, Jaguars interim head coach Doug Marrone would be a strong candidate to replace him in New Orleans, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. Marrone could also take over the Jacksonville job on a permanent basis.
  • The Jaguars will not, however, consider Chip Kelly, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes.
  • La Canfora tweets out a list of names who could be in contention for the 49ers‘ GM job, a list that includes Louis Riddick, Scott Pioli, and George Paton. Meanwhile, San Francisco is said to be high on Patriots OC Josh McDaniels and Dolphins DC Vance Joseph as head coaching candidates.
  • Peter Schrager of FoxSports.com tweets that Panthers DC Sean McDermott is lined up for multiple head coaching interviews.

Colts’ Robert Mathis To Retire

December 30th, 2016 at 12:12pm CST by Zachary Links

Colts defensive end Robert Mathis has announced that he will retire after the 2016 season. That means Sunday’s contest against the Jaguars will be his final NFL game. Robert Mathis (vertical)

[RELATED: Jim Harbaugh A Match For The Colts?]

Mathis, 35, has spent his entire career with the Colts since being selected in the fifth round of the 2003 draft. Across his 14 years (13 seasons) with the Colts, Mathis earned five Pro Bowl nods and one First-Team All-Pro selection. The defensive end will go down as an all-time Colts great, particularly for the first ten years of his career in which he averaged 10.0 sacks per season. In 2013, Mathis led the entire NFL with 19.5 sacks.

Mathis has four sacks and 17 total tackles in 13 games played this season. He also has two forced fumbles and one fumble recovered for a touchdown. The advanced metrics indicate that Mathis has lost a step or three and that this is probably a good time for him to step away from the game. Pro Football Focus ranks Mathis as one of the ten worst qualified edge defenders in the NFL this season.

We here at Pro Football Rumors wish No. 98 nothing but the best in retirement.

RELATED:

Colts Work Out Two Defenders

December 29th, 2016 at 9:06pm CST by Connor J. Byrne
  • The Colts worked out linebacker Dezman Moses and safety L.J. McCray on Thursday, per ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter links). Moses is easily the more experienced of the pair, having appeared in 46 games to McCray’s 22, and has been available since the Chiefs cut him Oct. 7. McCray hasn’t caught on anywhere since the 49ers waived him Sept. 5.

Colts Try Out Rob Housler

December 27th, 2016 at 5:52pm CST by Connor J. Byrne
  • Tight end Rob Housler showcased himself to the Colts, relays Caplan (Twitter link). The five-year veteran has 109 catches, nearly all of which (105) came with Arizona from 2011-14.
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