Indianapolis Colts Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

Matt Forte Notes: Dolphins, Giants, Colts

February 13th, 2016 at 10:13am CST by Ben Levine

Since running back Matt Forte announced earlier this week that he wouldn’t be returning to the Bears, writers have been going crazy with potential landing spots for the 30-year-old running back. The Patriots and Jets were suggested as potential destinations, along with several other teams.

Those rumblings have carried over to this morning, and we’ve compiled several notes regarding the Pro Bowler below…

If the Dolphins lose Lamar Miller and the price proves to not be too rich, it can be in the team’s best interest to pursue Forte, writes Greg Cote of The Miami Herald. The running back has a relationship with new coach Adam Gase, who was the offensive coordinator with the Bears last season.
Forte makes “zero sense” for the Giants, write Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. The writer would prefer the team gets younger, and Forte wouldn’t necessarily fit on a squad that already has four running backs.
Forte probably won’t be on the Colts radar, writes ESPN.com’s Mike Wells. While the team is looking to get younger at the position, a three-year difference in age between Forte and Frank Gore shouldn’t be enough to entice the team. Instead, Wells could envision the team pursuing a younger running back who they could pair with Gore.

2016 Proven Performance Escalators

February 12th, 2016 at 5:53pm CST by Dallas Robinson

According to the NFL’s contractual bargaining agreement, players drafted in rounds three though seven are entitled to raises during the fourth year of their respective rookie contracts. The pay bumps are tied to playing time — a player must have played in 35% of his team’s offensive or defensive snaps in two of his first three seasons, or averaged 35% playing time cumulatively during that period.

If one of these thresholds is met, the player’s salary is elevated to the level of that year’s lowest restricted free agent tender — that figure is projected to be $1.696MM in 2016. Players selected in the first or second round, undrafted free agents, and kickers/punters are ineligible for the proven performance escalator.

Here are the players who will see their salary rise in 2016 courtesy of the proven performance escalator:

49ers: Gerald Hodges, LB

Bears: Marquess Wilson, WR

Buccaneers: William Gholston, DE; Mike Glennon, QB; Akeem Spence, DT

Cardinals: Andre Ellington, RB; Tyrann Mathieu, CB/S; Alex Okafor, LB

Chargers: Keenan Allen, WR

Colts: Sio Moore, LB; Hugh Thornton, G

Cowboys: J.J. Wilcox, S; Terrance Williams, WR

Dolphins: Jelani Jenkins, LB; Dallas Thomas, T; Dion Sims, TE; Kenny Stills, WR

Eagles: Bennie Logan, DT

Falcons: Kemal Ishmael, S; Levine Toilolo, TE

Jaguars: Josh Evans, S; Dwayne Gratz, CB

Jets: Brian Winters, G

Lions: Larry Warford, G

Packers: David Bakhtiari, T; Micah Hyde, S

Patriots: Duron Harmon, S; Chris Jones, DT; Logan Ryan, CB

Raiders: Mychal Rivera, TE

Rams: T.J. McDonald, S

Ravens: Ricky Wagner, T; Brandon Williams, DT

Saints: Terron Armstead, T; John Jenkins, DT

Seahawks: Luke Willson, TE

Steelers: Markus Wheaton, WR

Titans: Brian Schwenke, C

Washington: Jordan Reed, TE

Extra Points: Combine, Draft, Colts, Browns

February 11th, 2016 at 5:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

The NFL announced the 332 participants who will perform at the NFL Scouting Combine, with potentially high-value quarterbacks Jared Goff, Paxton Lynch and Carson Wentz among the prospects invited.

These quarterbacks figure to be jostling for the right to either go No. 1 overall, in the event the Titans trade their pick, or be the first signal-caller off the board.

Despite coming from Division I-FCS North Dakota State, Wentz looks to be out front right now, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report hears (video link). The 6-foot-6 Wentz’s rise to this point comes from being the only quarterback scouts have seen throw since the season ended, Cole notes, with Wentz impressing the scouting armada at last month’s Senior Bowl.

Sources told Cole, however, younger QBs Goff and Lynch may have higher ceilings due to their age and potential for physical growth and calls this race a fluid situation.

Here’s more from Cole and others from around the league.

Although Ronnie Stanley rates as the top tackle prospect by many outlets, GMs and other NFL sources are questioning the Notre Dame lineman’s work ethic, Cole reports (video link). Stanley’s decision to train for the Combine in Las Vegas resides the crux of this concern, one GM told Cole.
The Colts rearranged their coaching staff, shifting multiple assistants to different position groups, Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star tweets. Jim Hostler will shift from coaching the wide receivers to coaching the tight ends this coming season, and Tim Berbenich will transition to the assistant quarterbacks coach job after he served as a defensive assistant last season.
The Browns adjusted their analytics-geared front office again on Thursday, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. Former director of football research Ken Kovash will now assist new player personnel VP Andrew Berry in running the scouting department. Kevin Meers, a source tells cleveland.com (via Ulrich), will now lead the research department. Meers and Berry will report to new football operations VP Sashi Brown, who has final say on the 53-man roster, Ulrich reports. Meers, Berry, Brown and new chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta are all Harvard graduates.

South Notes: Bucs, Cotchery, Hasselbeck

February 11th, 2016 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After watching Cam Newton and the Panthers win 15 games in his division in 2015, then seeing Newton run for his life against a fearsome Broncos pass rush in the Super Bowl, Buccaneers linebacker Kwon Alexander would like to see his team make an effort this offseason to add some more defensive players capable of wreaking havoc in opposing backfields.

“We need to get some more guys to, you know, to get some push on the quarterback,” Alexander said during an appearance on WDAE-AM 620 (link via JoeBucsFan.com). “I think that’s what we’re going to be drafting this year, defensive ends. We had great defensive ends this year, but we need a little more help. So whoever we can get, you know, we’re going to need that pressure to get Cam and, you know, try to get to the Super Bowl this season.”

As general manager Jason Licht takes Alexander’s recommendations under consideration, let’s check in on some other updates from around the NFL’s South divisions….

Thursday is the day that the contracts for Panthers wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery and safety Roman Harper void, so both players will officially become free agents when the new league year begins, tweets Joel Corry of CBSSports.com. For his part, Cotchery said this week that he’s not sure what his future holds, but he has only positive things to say about the two years he has spent in Carolina (link via Bill Voth of Black and Blue Review).
By the end of his 2015 campaign with the Colts, Matt Hasselbeck was pretty banged up, but the veteran quarterback said today during an appearance on 710 ESPN Seattle that he’s “strongly leaning toward” playing another season (Twitter link via Brady Henderson of 710 ESPN Seattle). Hasselbeck is an unrestricted free agent, so if he does continue his NFL career, there’s no guarantee that will happen in Indianapolis.
The agent for veteran guard Jahri Evans, who was released by the Saints this week, said on SportsRadio 94 WIP today that New Orleans asked Evans to take a pay cut to remain with the team, but his client wasn’t willing to do that for the second consecutive year (Twitter link via Matt Moscona of ESPN New Orleans). Evans signed a new contract last April that reduced his salary for 2016.

Extra Points: Combine, Brees, Chargers

February 9th, 2016 at 8:23pm CST by Zachary Links

The NFL has decided that prospects that have been convicted of domestic violence and sexual assault will be barred from the NFL scouting combine, as Chase Goodbread of NFL.com writes. “It is important for us to remain strongly committed to league values as we demonstrate to our fans, future players, coaches, general managers, and others who support our game that character matters,” stated NFL Football Operations Executive Vice President Troy Vincent in the memo to NFL teams. Last year, Tennessee linebacker A.J. Johnson was uninvited from the combine at the last minute after he was indicted on two counts of aggravated rape. He went undrafted and his court case is still pending.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

Joel Corry of CBSSports.com ran down 18 key NFL offseason dates and notable contract deadlines. As he details, the third day of the waiver period – Wednesday, Feb. 10th – will be significant for a number of big-name players, including the Saints’ Drew Brees and Jairus Byrd, the Browns’ Joe Haden, and the Raiders’ Curtis Lofton.
The Chargers finalized their coaching staff by naming former Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees as an offensive assistant and Marquice Williams as a special teams assistant, as Ricky Henne of Chargers.com writes. Rees quarterbacked the Irish from 2010-13, playing alongside current Bolts Manti Te’o, Chris Watt and Trevor Robinson.
The Colts announced that they have hired Maurice Drayton as assistant special teams coach and Jemal Singleton as running backs coach. Drayton has 17 years of coaching experience, including 10 seasons at his alma mater, The Citadel. Singleton holds 14 years of collegiate coaching experience, including nine seasons at his alma mater, Air Force. He served as the special teams coordinator/running backs coach at Arkansas in 2015.

Colts Waive Ryan Lindley

February 9th, 2016 at 2:48pm CST by Luke Adams

The Colts have reduced their quarterback depth chart by one, announcing today in a press release that they’ve cut Ryan Lindley. The 26-year-old will become an unrestricted free agent this week if he clears waivers.

Given the opportunity to play briefly for the Colts in the final week of the regular season, Lindley completed six of 10 passes for 58 yards and a touchdown. Prior to that game, his only regular-season experience had come during his time as a Cardinal. Lindley started six regular season games over the course of three seasons for Arizona, and also started a playoff game for the team a little over a year ago.

Lindley was one of two quarterbacks signed by the Colts prior to their Week 17 game, when Andrew Luck, Matt Hasselbeck, and Charlie Whitehurst were all battling injuries. Unlike Lindley, Josh Freeman – the other quarterback signed during Week 17 – remains on Indianapolis’ roster, and could have an opportunity to compete for the No. 2 job in 2016.

Outside of Luck, the Colts currently only have Freeman and former Jaguars Stephen Morris under contract at the QB position. Hasselbeck and Whitehurst are both eligible for free agency next month.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Colts Want To Re-Sign Adam Vinatieri

February 9th, 2016 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

12:32pm: He doesn’t have a contract yet, but Vinatieri has finalized his decision to play for at least one more season, according to Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star. Keefer writes that Vinatieri wanted to weigh the decision with his wife and children before making it official, but now that he’s had some time to regroup following the regular season, he has decided to keep playing.

“Not only a season, but Lord willing, a couple of years,” Vinatieri said. “There will come a time when it’s over for me. I don’t think that time is yet. I enjoy playing. I enjoy doing my thing.”

10:50am: Adam Vinatieri turned 43 in December, but he continued to perform well for the Colts in the final season of his most recent contract, and the team would like to bring him back on a new deal, if he’s interested. As Mike Wells of ESPN.com writes, Colts owner Jim Irsay confirmed his club’s interest in re-signing Vinatieri.

“We’d like to retain Adam,” Irsay said. “We believe he’s still kicking at a high level. He really takes care of himself…. (Vinatieri) and (punter) Pat (McAfee) really complement each other. That’s been one of the strengths of our football team, those two guys. We do not underestimate what those two guys have meant to us.”

Right around the time of Vinatieri’s 43rd birthday, reports indicated that he planned on returning in 2016 for his 21st NFL season. So while it’s possible that he ends up with another team, the Colts figure to have the inside track on re-signing him. The veteran kicker has spent the last decade in Indianapolis, after spending the first 10 years of his NFL career with the Patriots.

In 2015, Vinatieri connected on 25 of 27 field goal tries, for a 92.6% conversion rate. However, he did occasionally struggle with the longer extra point, missing three of 35 attempts. Still, there were few NFL kickers more reliable than Vinatieri, who is now third on the league’s list of all-time leading scorers. With 2,253 points, Vinatieri could make a run at Morten Andersen (2,544) and Gary Anderson (2,434) if he decides to play for longer than just one more season.

Vinatieri’s previous contract with the Colts, which he signed in March 2014, was worth $5MM over two years, with a modest $500K signing bonus. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him sign a similar pact this time around.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

South Notes: Titans, D. Martin, Colts, M. Martin

February 5th, 2016 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota obviously has some pull with his franchise, but he told Pro Football Talk that he didn’t want to be significantly involved with the team’s head coaching search.

“I didn’t want any input or anything like that,” Mariota said. “They did ask. They asked about Chip Kelly, about Coach (Mike) Mularkey. They obviously asked my opinions about people here and there, but I wanted them to make their own decision.”

Last month, the Titans made the call to elevate Mularkey from interim head coach to head coach, while Kelly – Mariota’s old head coach at Oregon – joined the Niners.

Here’s more from around the NFL’s South divisions:

Buccaneers running back Doug Martin is eligible to hit the open market in March but on Thursday, he took yet another opportunity to profess his love for Tampa Bay. “I love Tampa and Tampa loves me,” Martin told PFT. “I’ve got a house out there so I do wish I’ll go back to Tampa.” ~~Muscle Hamster~~ Martin also said that he was surprised by the firing of coach Lovie Smith, though he’s excited about playing for Dirk Koetter, who was elevated from offensive coordinator.
Colts owner Jim Irsay told WISH-TV’s Anthony Calhoun that he hopes to see Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning retire as a member of the Colts, signing a one-day contract with Indianapolis when he decides to call it a career. Of course, rumors have been swirling in recent weeks that Super Bowl 50 could be Manning’s final game. Then again, maybe this won’t be Manning’s “last rodeo” — the Rams have reportedly discussed Manning internally as they gear up for their move to Los Angeles.
Titans defensive lineman Mike Martin has had to adjust to several different schemes throughout his college and NFL career, as his teams made multiple coaching changes. As he tells Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com, Martin – a pending free agent – is hoping for some stability with his next team, assuming he isn’t back with Tennessee.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

AFC South Notes: Colts, Titans, D. Robinson

February 4th, 2016 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

After spending big on veteran free agents last offseason, Colts owner Jim Irsay doesn’t expect to take the same approach this time around. While Indianapolis will delve into free agency a little if there’s a good fit, Irsay wants to recommit to building the roster through the draft, as Mike Wells of ESPN.com details.

“The draft is where we’re really going to get better,” Irsay said. “I think over the next two drafts, continue to identify guys, particularly defensively, that are going to be key guys going forward.”

Let’s check in on the rest of the teams in the AFC South…

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, NFL personnel executives say there’s a real chance that the Titans will select Ole Miss tackle Laremy Tunsil with the first overall pick in this year’s draft, assuming the team keeps the pick and doesn’t trade down. Having drafted Marcus Mariota a year ago, Tennessee doesn’t need a quarterback, so Tunsil or Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa look like the most logical targets for the club.
Jaguars running back Denard Robinson is extension-eligible for the first time this offseason, and tells Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com that he “definitely” wants to stay in Jacksonville. “It’s a great place and I enjoy it, enjoy the coaches and everything,” Robinson said. Still, the former fifth-round pick acknowledged that there have been no discussions with the Jags about a new deal so far.
The NFL has been tentatively planning to play a game in Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium in 2016, and it appears that game will feature the Texans and Raiders, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. The Raiders are a logical candidate to be the “home” team since they’re currently without a stadium lease, while the Texans have a growing fan base in Mexico and have expressed interest in being a part of the league’s international series.

Colts Confident They’ll Sign Andrew Luck To Extension

February 2nd, 2016 at 4:02pm CST by Zachary Links

TUESDAY, 4:02pm: Colts owner Jim Irsay confirmed today that he hopes to get Luck locked up to a new deal before the 2016 season begins, per Mike Wells of ESPN.com.

“Obviously being this early, there’s no reason to think that we would have had major negotiations yet, but that’s going to be happening as this month gets later and March comes in and all that sort of thing,” Irsay said Tuesday. “I think there’s a good chance we’ll get something done.”

Although Irsay acknowledged that an extension for Luck will likely be worth “nine figures,” he cautioned that he’d like to make the contract as cap-friendly as he can.

“To me it’s not a matter of what the number is going to be, but again, making sure that we have room to surround him with a championship football team and that it’s as cap friendly as it can be as we go through the end of this decade from 2016 to 2020,” Irsay said. “You want to make it cap-friendly and you want to have the ability to possibly alter it as time goes on to help the cap in different things like that.”

MONDAY, 6:50pm: The Colts are more confident than ever in the abilities of quarterback Andrew Luck and they believe that they can sign him to an extension this offseason, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Luck is under contract through 2016 with a base salary of $16.155MM.

A new contract for Luck could cost the Colts more than $22MM annually, exceeding Aaron Rodgers‘ average annual value with the Packers. In fact, Luck’s deal could even set a new watermark for guaranteed money in a deal. If they can’t hammer out a long-term contract, the Colts would have to use the franchise tag to keep him around beyond ’16. The former No. 1 overall pick ostensibly wants to get paid big bucks, but he also has said that he is tired of the constant “rebuilding” talk in Indianapolis. Ultimately, he open to the idea of signing an extension.

“Yeah, that would be great,” he said of a multi-year pact. “I haven’t thought about it too much. I wanted to make sure this season gets done. “But if there’s an opportunity for it, yeah, absolutely.”

Prior to the 2015 season, Luck led the Colts to three consecutive 11-5 seasons and established new career highs in 2014 with 4,761 passing yards and 40 touchdowns.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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