Watch as Indianapolis Colts’ defensive end Laiatu Latu goes through some offseason pass rush drills in preparation for his second NFL season.
Latu was the 15th overall pick in last year’s draft by the Colts and the first defender taken off the board.
He finished his rookie year with 38 pressures, according to PFF, which was the second-most on the Colts’ defense, and he totaled four sacks. We also saw Latu improve as a run defender as the season progressed.
When it comes to being a productive pass rusher, consistently winning your one-on-ones is crucial. Although Latu’s numbers on the surface won’t leap off the page, he did rank 27th out of all defensive ends last season in pass rush win rate, which can be a good indicator of long-term success.
Oftentimes in a player’s second NFL season we seem them make the biggest jump. For one, they have a full offseason to work on their craft rather than going through the pre-draft process.
In addition to that, there is growth that often occurs from the just the added comfort that comes with having a season under your belt and knowing how to go about your days and adjusting to the play speed.
A Year 2 leap for Latu will be important for the Colts’ defensive front, especially if Dayo Odeyingbo signs elsewhere in free agency. As the Colts leading pressure getter last season, that’s a lot of production that will have to be replaced.
Among the topics covered during new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s introductory press conference last month was Latu, who Anarumo said he was a big fan of coming out of the draft.
Anarumo has spent the last several seasons working with Cincinnati pass rusher Trey Hendrickson.
Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Colts defensive lineman Dayo Odeyingbo is a pending free agent; should the Colts re-sign the young versatile player?
Dayo Odeyingbo has emerged as one of the better young players on the Colts defense over the past couple of seasons. Compiling 11 sacks, 16 tackles for losses and a few forced fumbles, he has exceeded expectations in his role as a rotational defensive lineman. He has experience inside and on the edge and has found success from both areas. Dayo will be 26 years old in September and is up for a new contract this offseason. He was drafted in the 2nd round in 2021 by the Colts and the question is: does he deserve a 2nd contract with the team? The answer is obviously yes, but can the Colts afford to pay his projected asking price and if they can, should they?
Projected Contract
According to Tom Pelissero’s recent article highlighting under-the-radar free agents, he says that “it wouldn’t be a shock to see Odeyingbo land a deal in the range of $16 million to $20 million per year.” It’s a decent starting point to work with.
It’s more accurate to consider Dayo an edge rusher since 78% of his snaps are on the outside. From there, we can use the following players to compare:
- Arik Armstead
- Carl Granderson
- Osa Odighizuwa
- Dre’Mont Jones
Please note that Dayo Odeyingbo is a unique player and doesn’t have an exact comparison, so finding players with some similar traits is tricky.
If we look at all 4 contracts, we see that:
- Arik Armstead signed for 3 years, 43.5M with 28M guaranteed in 2024
- Carl Granderson signed for 4 years, 52M with 22.1M guaranteed in 2023
- Osa Odighizuwa signed for 4 years, 80M with 39M guaranteed in 2025
- Dre’Mont Jones signed for 3 years, 51M with 23M guaranteed in 2023
The average of those 4 contracts, adjusted for inflation, would be:
4 years, $72M with $36M guaranteed
Based on the average and the reports we’re seeing/hearing, we can expect Dayo to sign for around the money listed above.
Is it Worth it?
There’s two parts to it: Dayo is a young upstart player who is about to enter his athletic prime on a team that could use the help on the edge. The other part to it is that Dayo’s production up to this point has not made him an $18M-a-year player.
If they’re optimistic about his potential and believe the Colts badly need the help on the edge, then the Colts should keep him.
If they’re looking it at with regards to his production and his numbers, he is simply not worth $15M+ a year and more in the $8M-$12M a year range.
A contract like the one listed above would put him in the upper echelon of complimentary edge rushers and make him one of the 15 highest paid defensive ends in the NFL. I don’t think anyone can argue that Dayo is one of the 15-20 best in the league at the moment.
Personally, I like to pay for something based on what has been shown, even if it’s flashes. Dayo is very athletic and is clearly on the rise, but to pay a relative unknown that much money that makes him one of the highest paid players on the team seems too much. The Colts still have serious issues in the secondary, they might have an opening to fill at linebacker and there might be holes looming with the offensive line, so money might be tight.
Chris Ballard in his make-or-break year might not care about the long-term ramifications and sign him to a contract like the one above, but it’s risky. Ballard is in a position now where he’ll have to take risks so he could bite the bullet and not necessarily see the negative fallout of the contract (if he underperforms).
It’s also worth noting that the defensive end market is relatively strong with names like Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, Trey Hendrickson, Dee Lawrence and Josh Sweat. The Colts could find someone out there for cheaper with better short-term value than Odeyingbo.
For me, making Dayo a top 5 paid player on the team seems too much and not a contract the team should look to take on, especially with some new defensive end names on the free agency and trade market such as the names listed above.
Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
If the Colts want him, they will have to pay, but it should be worth it.
The Indianapolis Colts have the need, the capital, and the inside track to acquire the services of Cincinnati Bengals’ pass rushing stud, Trey Hendrickson. The questions are, what he will cost, and would the Colts pull the trigger? Defensive end has been Chris Ballard’s white whale. He has spent plenty of draft selections on the position and has little to nothing to show for it. Hendrickson will take draft capital and a hefty contract, but if reasonable, both would be well justified.
Stampede Blues’ own, Luke Schultheis, showed how much value Hendrickson brings.
How many first, second, and third-round picks have been spent at the position? I honestly don’t even want to think about it. If the Bengals asked for a second or a third and fifth next year, does Ballard make that deal knowing he uses his precious draft capital and has to provide a large contract to Hendrickson who will be on the wrong side of thirty? That might be too rich for Ballard’s blood, but it might be something that gets the Colts back to their winning ways and establishes the culture reset that is needed.
Top-tier defensive ends don’t always hit the market. When they do, they get expensive, but teams that swing can hit big. A pass rush that can get to the quarterback is incredibly valuable. The Colts can’t allow unlimited time in the pocket and bringing in Hendrickson, even for a second rounder, could be worth it. There is no guarantee who you pick in second will be worth anything. It is known what Hendrickson brings to the table.
I think a second rounder gets it done. Trey Hendrickson wants a trade, Indy has some coaching connections to him, and the Bengals would get fair compensation. Those are all check marks in favor of the Colts. The question remains whether Ballard will do it and how high the bidding war will reach. If the Bengals will accept a second, the Colts should send it over. It would fulfill a huge need and address an outstanding issue this franchise has faced over the last decade. Time will tell if the Colts will enter the arena.
Photo by Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images
Could the Colts trade for veteran All-Pro defensive end Trey Hendrickson to shore up an inconsistent pass rush?
Safely at a contract negotiations impasse, the Cincinnati Bengals have granted veteran star defensive end Trey Hendrickson permission to seek a trade.
Of course, the Indianapolis Colts have already been speculated as a potential leading trade suitor for Hendrickson given their established familiarity, as Indianapolis brought over his former Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo earlier this offseason, and their defensive line coach Charlie Partridge was his prior head coach at Florida Atlantic (2014-16):
For what it’s worth, Hendrickson also spoke glowingly of Anarumo a few weeks ago on ‘The Pat McAfee Show.’
The 30-year-old former 2017 3rd round pick of the New Orleans Saints led the league with 17.5 total sacks this past season—earning First-Team NFL All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors. He also finished second in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Additionally, Hendrickson added 46 tackles (33 solo), 19 tackles for loss, a whopping 83 QB pressures, 6 passes defensed, and 2 forced fumbles during all 17 starts.
His 35.0 combined total sacks over the past two seasons also are the most in the NFL.
Hendrickson is entering the last year of his current Cincy contract, which has an $18.7M cap hit. His next multi-year contract, with whichever team trades for him, will assuredly not be cheap.
Specifically, one of his top pass rushing peers, Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby just freshly inked a 3-year, $106.5M contract extension—which makes him the highest paid non-quarterback in the league.
After cutting backup defensive tackle Raekwon Davis, the Colts have a projected $40.4M of total team salary cap space available, so Indy would likely have to make other veteran cuts—including releasing veteran starting right tackle Braden Smith ($16.75M savings) and possibly returning defensive end Samson Ebukam ($7.49M respectively) to stay under the threshold in order to acquire Hendrickson and secure him to a mega-contract extension (or perhaps otherwise trading former first rounder Kwity Paye, who’s due a $13.4M cap hit in 2025).
Sent draft pick compensation in NFL trades rarely match the talent of the star player being acquired, especially with Hendrickson due a major contract extension by his next team and recently hitting 30-years-old, so he’d likely be able to be had for a second or third round pick by his next NFL landing spot. Could that actually be the Colts?
Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images
The Indianapolis Colts have released a backup defensive tackle.
The Indianapolis Cols have released defensive tackle Raekwon Davis, according to multiple reports.
Davis originally signed a two-year, $14 million deal with the Colts last offseason but didn’t play much during the 2024 season. The 27-year-old defensive tackle finished with 15 combined tackles on the season and zero sacks over a 17 game period.
Davis, who was one of two outside free agents brought in by Colts general manager Chris Ballard last offseason, was signed to help provide depth behind starting defensive tackles DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart. The other player signed by Indianapolis was backup quarterback Joe Flacco, who isn’t expected to be back for the 2025 season either.
Releasing Davis helps create around $6.5 million in cap space, which Indianapolis can use to either re-signing some of their own in-house free agents or outside free agents. The Colts now sit around $41 million in cap space prior to the free agency period beginning next week, according to Spotrac.
The NFL’s legal tampering period is set to begin at noon on Monday, March 10. With Davis’ release, the Colts will now have a spot to fill at backup defensive tackle. Perhaps the team looks to bring in a player who is familiar with Indy’s new defensive coordinator, Lou Anarumo.
San Francisco 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward (7) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. — Jan 5, 2025. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
“We’ve had moments where we’ve brought outside free agents in and done really good with it,” Ballard said. “We’ve got to be better about making sure we identify the right free agents that can help push this team to where it needs to go.”
Free agent cornerback Charvarius Ward and the Indianapolis Colts reached an agreement Monday on a three-year deal, worth up to $60 million. The Colts opened free agency aiming to rebuild the secondary by agreeing to terms with two starting defensive backs.
At the Colts’ end-of-season news conference in January, GM Chris Ballard told reporters he would commit to changing his free agency approach in his ninth season. Not just by searching for outside help to fix the defensive issues but closing deals on leaders to change the culture inside the locker room.
“We’ve had moments where we’ve brought outside free agents in and done really good with it,” Ballard said. “We’ve got to be better about making sure we identify the right free agents that can help push this team to where it needs to go. Right now, we’re not close. I’m going to make this really clear. Like close is losing on the last play of the Super Bowl. That’s close. Going 8-9, that’s not close.”
Due to the Colts starting an endless carousel of different cornerbacks over the past few seasons, the biggest need on the defensive side of the ball was to add more depth and competition in the secondary. Indianapolis also agreed to terms with safety Camryn Bynum Monday on a four-year, $60 million deal. Bynum and Ward are set to become the two highest-paid free agents Indianapolis has signed in Ballard’s nine years as GM. Ward’s massive deal includes $35M guaranteed and a staggering $20M signing bonus.
Since 2022, Ward has 35 forced incompletions and posted an 84.5 Pro Football Focus coverage grade, which ranks sixth among all cornerbacks. Ward led the league with 23 pass deflections in 2023, earning second-team All-Pro honors. He established himself as one of the league’s best cornerbacks with an outstanding Pro Bowl campaign that featured 72 tackles and five interceptions.
Charvarius Ward among CBs since 2022:
84.5 coverage grade (6th)
️ 35 forced incompletions (T-8th)
Rebuilt secondary in Indy https://t.co/ZIncOOPegG pic.twitter.com/mWZ9CejfPQ
— PFF IND Colts (@colts_pff) March 10, 2025
Despite a rather stellar start to his career for an undrafted free agent, Ward faced tremendous adversity in 2024. He dealt with hamstring and knee injuries, while grieving over the tragic loss of his one-year-old daughter. Despite the 49ers being marred by injuries and suffering the franchise’s worst season in six years, the seven-year veteran tallied seven pass deflections against just three penalties. The 6-foot-1 cornerback allowed 31 catches on 51 targets in 2024, which was tied for the fifth-fewest receptions allowed among qualified cornerbacks.
The 28-year-old emerged as the most coveted cornerback available on the market this offseason and brings a ton of experience having played in 17 playoff games, including three Super Bowls. Ward spent his last three campaigns in San Francisco, helping the 49ers reach Super Bowl LVIII. After initially going undrafted, Ward signed with the Dallas Cowboys practice squad, but was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs before the 2018 NFL season began. By 2019, Ward had blossomed into a full-time starter and ultimately contributed to the Chiefs winning Super Bowl LIV.
The Colts were among the five-worst NFL defenses in yards allowed, passing yards per play and third down percentage, which ultimately led to the dismissal of former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. After Indianapolis led the league with 157 missed tackles last season, signing Ward may make an immediate impact to help fix the Colts most egregious issue. His 9% missed tackle rate ranked 12th among all qualified cornerbacks last season. Indianapolis has since acquired two starters to solidify a new era under defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who plans to lead the Colts toward an avenue of success and establish a winning culture.
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
It was a long time coming.
If you weren’t following along to start the legal tampering period of NFL free agency, the following sentence might seem utterly unbelievable.
Chris Ballard and the Indianapolis Colts not only participated in the first day of free agency but actually made several big splashes.
Yes, I know. Hard to believe isn’t it? After watching this general manager sit on his hands for the last eight years, it seems impossible that he would finally stand up and sign players in the early hours of free agency. Now, the Colts didn’t make the first signing of the day. That would be insanity. They did however make several, and in the process, they got better.
We won’t have to see the meme of the dude with a stick saying, “Do something” in reference to Ballard this year. He got to work immediately. Yes, he worked on two of his own players in Braden Smith and Ashton Dulin, but that is completely fine. Restructuring Smith’s deal was a positive and keeping Dulin around for depth and special teams won’t hurt. Those were the Ballard specials we normally get year in and year out. Restructure and resign your own. It isn’t the worst philosophy when your team is already good, but it doesn’t normally help a franchise get better.
Ballard’s back is against the wall, however, and it showed.
Cam Bynum was the first piece and an important one to help shore up the secondary. A four-year $60 million contract, isn’t a Ballard deal. It simply isn’t. Ballard prefers 1-2 years and much less, but he should know that quality free agents cost money. Bynum isn’t the best safety in the game, but he can certainly improve the roster.
Stack another $60 million deal on top for Charvarius Ward from San Francisco, and Ballard seems to be operating outside of himself. This was the move the Colts had to make. Upgrading cornerback was a must, and Ward has been solid. Since 2022, he ranks 6th in coverage and 8th in forced incompletions. He is a quick path towards improvement for a porous secondary.
There is still work to be done for the Colts, and I would love nothing more than to see another splash. Mainly to help the team get better, but also, because it has been so rare that I am dying to see more of it. Free agency isn’t the end-all-be-all, and it can definitely blow up in a team’s face. Chris Ballard’s strategy of avoiding it hasn’t worked, so I am good with a change of pace. Let’s see what else he has up his new and improved sleeves.
Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images
The Colts ‘QB competition’ is more about due diligence and insurance than it is actual competition for the starting job, though both can be true.
Colts general manager Chris Ballard seemingly created a narrative during the NFL Scouting Combine when he revealed to the media that the team will hold an ‘open competition’ regarding its starting quarterback for the 2025 season.
Third-year quarterback Anthony Richardson has been through the wringer during his first two seasons in the NFL, and some of the lows in question can be attributed to what he has or hasn’t done thus far in his career. Richardson hasn’t proved himself as both a leader and professional off-the-field, while his on-the-field shortcomings are centered around his inaccuracies as a passer and his durability to stay healthy.
This handful of deficiencies from Richardson led the Colts' front office to emphasize bringing in competition to the quarterback room which has ultimately resulted in the signing of FA quarterback Daniel Jones.
Like Richardson, Daniel Jones is a former top-10 draft pick who has struggled to put it together throughout his career. Although his career has spanned an entire rookie contract’s worth (four seasons) longer than Richardson’s, Jones finds himself vying for a starting gig in Indianapolis.
Jones also presents a more hybrid style of quarterbacking thanks to his above-average rushing ability, though that has more or less been his downfall as an NFL quarterback. In six seasons, Jones has only thrown for 15+ passing touchdowns once — his rookie season — while totaling a career stat line of 14,582 passing yards, 70 passing touchdowns, and 47 interceptions. He’s also added 2,179 rushing yards with 15 rushing touchdowns and 15 fumbles with his legs.
When it comes to just how open this quarterback competition is, I’d venture into saying that it’s more so a motivation tactic that doubles as insurance. Anthony Richardson has not been good enough, nor healthy enough, to be handed the starting job, but he’s hardly been given to right his wrongs. Not to suggest that any of his shortcomings thus far should be defended, but Richardson is only halfway through his rookie contract.
While the Colts are unsure if Richardson is their future, bringing in a serviceable quarterback like Daniel Jones only reaffirms their notion of going all-in on the project they elected to take a chance on two draft cycles ago. Some may ask, then why spend ~$14M on a reclamation project of sorts like Jones?
On the surface, with how his career has gone thus far, Daniel Jones is a serviceable backup at worst that was signed for insurance purposes, which is extra valuable considering the durability concerns that surround Richardson at this point in his career. Not only that but this, as Chris Ballard and the Colts intend, should light a fire under Richardson and remind him that he’ll have to earn his stripes moving forward.
Make no mistake about it, Daniel Jones has been given a real opportunity to win the starting gig in Indianapolis. Anthony Richardson must prove himself, at the bare minimum, to be at least better than Jones if he wants to continue as the Colts’ quarterback of the future.
If Daniel Jones at all threatens his job, you learn right then and there that Anthony Richardson was never the answer. If that were to happen, then the project has failed and a new regime would likely come into the fray to try and clean up the mess that the Chris Ballard era has left behind. If it succeeds, however, then this regime would earn a fifth chance of sorts as the Colts would have their franchise quarterback of the future.
Richardson’s agent, Deiric Jackson, told NFL Network on Tuesday that the third-year quarterback currently is healthy after dealing with oblique and back injuries in 2024.
Jackson also told NFL Network that Richardson does not plan to seek a trade, adding that “AR will be ready to roll.”
This move offers motivation for their current project, insurance in case said project were to hit a setback health-wise during the season (history suggests it’ll be inevitable), while also adding a hungry, post-rookie contract quarterback to the fray that’ll hopefully enlighten Richardson to a reality where one day you’re the face of franchise and the next you’re signing a 1-year deal to compete with a third-year player.
The Colts' plan isn’t to push Anthony Richardson out of town but rather to provide every resource necessary to tap into his potential. Chris Ballard, Shane Steichen, and this entire organization believe in Richardson, they’re just exerting all possible efforts in an attempt to speed up his maturity as a player both on and off the field. Perhaps it’s not fair of a halfway-out-the-door general manager to try and expedite his own faulty process from years past, but this is the bed the organization has made and now they must lie in it — for better or for worse.
Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images
The Colts have found their top quarterback competition for incumbent 3rd-year starter Anthony Richardson.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Indianapolis Colts are signing Minnesota Vikings free agent quarterback Daniel Jones to a one-year deal, that’s worth up to $17.7M:
For the Colts, it’s a sizeable investment for longtime general manager Chris Ballard and company to push incumbent starting quarterback Anthony Richardson this offseason—for what looks like will be very much a legitimate positional competition in training camp.
Regarding Jones:
Jones had been heavily connected to the Colts since the NFL Combine, and it looks like he elected to compete with Richardson over last year’s Vikings first round pick J.J. McCarthy—and perhaps Indianapolis sweetened the deal a bit over Minnesota too.
The Vikings and Colts were both vying to sign him, but after losing out on free agent starting right guard Will Fries to Minnesota earlier in the day, Indianapolis struck back a bit.
Like Richardson, Jones offers dual-threat mobility, meaning the Colts can run a similar offensive system with either quarterback. Jones also provides a wealth of starting experience as a potential top backup with 69 career NFL starts.
He once showed enough promise formerly with the New York Giants as their franchise QB hopeful to ink a 4-year, $160M deal. However, his play declined in more recent years.
Specifically, he struggles with the same issues that Richardson does: injuries, accuracy, turnovers, and consistency.
In my opinion, I wonder if this amount of salary cap could’ve been better utilized elsewhere. For instance, going to new Vikings starting right guard Fries.
Comparatively, veteran Andy Dalton has a cap hit of $3.2M to be the Carolina Panthers primary backup quarterback in 2025. The veteran the Colts should’ve arguably signed back in 2023 to help mentor Richardson, and was arguably the closest thing to Matt Hasselbeck, another former Pro Bowl veteran who previously aided retired quarterback Andrew Luck’s early development.
However, it doesn’t matter, as Jones is the choice and direction that the Colts have gone, adding him as the top quarterback competition for Richardson this offseason.
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
The Colts just bolstered their backfield depth behind star workhorse Jonathan Taylor for next season.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Indianapolis Colts have agreed to a one-year deal with Cincinnati Bengals free agent running back Khalil Herbert:
Having been selected in the 6th round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the 5’9,” 212 pound Herbert began his pro career with the Chicago Bears—where he played from 2021-24, before being traded to the Cincinnati Bengals in-season this past early November.
With both the Bears and Bengals combined last season, Herbert had 36 carries for 130 rushing yards (3.6 ypc. avg.) and a rushing touchdowns during 14 games (1 start).
The 4-year veteran also had 10 receptions for 25 total receiving yards.
The Colts were in need of a backup running back upgrade behind star workhorse Jonathan Taylor, as their other backfield options didn’t generate consistent production in 2024.
In particular, a running back with some plus pass catching/blocking chops would be preferred, and Herbert has been previously regarded for his backup ‘scat-back’ skill-set.
He should be initially penciled in for that role behind Taylor, likely placing third-down running back Tyler Goodson’s prior 53-man roster spot in potential jeopardy—although there should be a healthy training camp competition between the two for that role.
I would still expect that the Colts could be in the market for another backup running back as an upgrade over Trey Sermon, a current free agent, for the between-the-tackles work to occasionally spell Taylor—whether that’s through free agency or the upcoming NFL Draft.
