Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - FRENZY: Indianapolis Colts Sign Alec Pierce to RECORD Deal, Also TRADE Michael Pittman Jr.

Starting point is 00:00:01 The Indianapolis Colts had brought back Alec Pierce on a record-setting deal. Let's get to it. You are Locked-on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to Locked-on Colts, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. Now, the number one sports podcast network around. Hello, everyone. My name is Zach Hickshire Resident Film Nerd of Horseshoe.com.

Starting point is 00:00:36 I'm joined, as always, by Jake R.Hawkson. our boots on the ground over at Roundtable Sports. Today, it's the first day of free agency, the legal tampering period, or as we should all just call it, the first day of free agency, has opened up. Teams are allowed to sign players,

Starting point is 00:00:53 or at least agree to deals with players. And we are seeing a ton of movement around the league, but the first deal announced the second we hit 12 o'clock today, or I guess a little bit past 12 o'clock, was the Colts re-signing their star wide receiver, Alec Pierce, to a four-year contract. contract for $114 million, $84 million guaranteed and $60 million guaranteed at signing.

Starting point is 00:01:16 As Jake has it in here, it's the richest deal ever for a free agent wide receiver, which I think is funny because he was technically only a free agent for like four minutes into the tampering period. So maybe they let him hit the market just to break that record there. So we'll talk all about Alec Pierce, what this means for the Colts offense going forward. We'll talk about the trade of Michael Pittman Jr. to the Pittsburgh Steelers. We're still waiting on what the trade comp is for that, but the Colts have moved on from Michael Pittman Jr. And then Jake and I to close out the show will react to a couple of the big news items around the league. They're still flowing in as we're discussing.

Starting point is 00:01:49 But we had to at least jump on here and talk about Alec Pierce and Michael Pittman, Jr. Before the day ends. But Jake, let's kick this off with Alec Pierce. You know, it was touching go there for this entire week. We criticized Chris Ballard for not tagging Pierce and tagging Jones instead. And they played the risk of him hitting the market and potentially getting bigger offers. There have been some reports that there were bigger offers on the table for Pierce. Again, I think some of that is agents speak.

Starting point is 00:02:17 We hear that with every single free agent that ever hits the market. But ultimately, he resigns with the Colts $28.5 million per year. And he will be the Colts number one wide receiver going forward. Yep. And Zach, just as we suspected while we are on air, the Colts added somebody else. Arden Key is signing to the Colts two years up to 20 million with 11 million guaranteed. Okay. So up to, so it's probably two years like 10 million or something.

Starting point is 00:02:45 We'll shuffle him into segment two here. Right, right. But let's talk about Alex Pierce for sure. And then we'll jump into Arden Key and a bunch of other players. Yeah. All right. So Alec Pierce, I was surprised at how quickly this one got done. Because, again, we talked about the fact that it wasn't a foregone conclusion.

Starting point is 00:03:04 that he was necessarily going to hit the market. It was very likely just based on his own words last week on Up and Adams. But, you know, if the Colts swooped in and did some strong gesture and really close some ground, ground that they could maybe get it done. And so what was it, God, like 12-02 or something. And here comes this mega deal for Pierce. At 28.5 million per year, I'm totally good with it. I think we were willing to go. to 30, you and I, like, if that's where the market drove, but you didn't, it was going to start to get more uncomfortable, the more you went beyond 30. So to go under 30, I think, is a great, great mark. Reportedly, that wasn't even the best offer he received. There was at least, I guess,

Starting point is 00:03:54 one other team that offered more. I've heard a lot about, like, the commanders kind of threw a bag at him, so maybe that was the other team. But here's a couple big things we know. He's never really mentioned it being about the money. But the quarterback situation was like paramount to him because again, we've seen him rendered almost useless before based on the quarterback position. You know, you look back as rookie year 2022. Gardner Minchu refused to look more than 10 yards down the field of him in 2023, basically. So not only should we assume that things are moving in the right direction of the Daniel Jones front, but that these two are going to be tied together for, I would say, at least a few years as far as contractually how that

Starting point is 00:04:40 looks. So I immediately, when I saw that, said, okay, well, Daniel Jones must be coming down the pipe pretty soon as well. So I like the contract figures. I like that the Colts, they broke the bank, but it could have been even more, to be completely honest with you. and I really didn't want to see a guy that they drafted and developed and spoke so highly of. I didn't want to see him get out the door. And even though you're weighing quarterback and receiver as to who is most important, I think we all thought they had to be a package deal going into this. Because you're going to have to change too much ground going further into the offseason based on one of them falling through.

Starting point is 00:05:27 but your receiver arguably being your most prized possession and free agency, that's a big deal. And the fact that you were able to get him without hitting $30 million, it's pretty big. Yeah. And I think a big part of this too is with the signing bonus being as big as it is, I don't expect his year one cap hit to be very bad whatsoever. Honestly, with the trade of Michael Pittman Jr.,

Starting point is 00:05:47 I think the Colts are probably in the green right now with cap space. Now, we'll see what the Arden Key deal looks like in terms of how they manage that. but as of right now, I think they're probably close to even or around the green when it comes to cap space. But just talking about what this means for Alec Pierce. I mean, look, he's no longer going to be the occasional deep threat,

Starting point is 00:06:10 the third or fourth most targeted guy in the offense. When you're paying him this kind of money, he's going to be number one or number two on the targets list by the end of the season. And a big part of this too, especially when we're looking at Michael Pittman Jr. versus Alec Pierce and comparing the two, It's much easier to say that Pierce can do what Pittman can do rather than

Starting point is 00:06:30 Pittman doing what Pierce can do, especially at their ages and their recent injury history. So I think Pierce projects well as a player that can just take on a bigger role in this offense. He's their best guy against press man coverage. He wins on the vertical playing and he got a lot better in the intermediate plane this past year. And they showed a lot more improvement to as a route runner. So I think this is a very, very good investment in Alec Pierce.

Starting point is 00:06:54 I think he is an outstanding young receiver. And I'd put him in a similar tier as like a T. Higgins type player. And I think this is kind of what he's getting paid to be. And I'm all for this signing. So again, I was concerned that he could hit the market and be a New England patriot with all that cap space they had. And who knows that they offered more than the Colts? But ultimately, I think this is a good fine for the Colts.

Starting point is 00:07:17 And I think getting him 130, 140 targets in a season compared to 84 will only work wonders for the Colts offense. I mean, last year, if you count the pass interference as he drew down the field, he generated like 1,200 yards of offense on 84 targets. So like he said on the Up and Adams show, right? Extrapolate that over 130 targets. And we're looking at one of the best receivers in football. I know it's not that easy to do that. But very, very good player. One of the biggest focal points of the offense. Honestly, when you look at the three pillars of the offense last year, it was Jonathan Taylor, Tyler, Tyler Warren, and Alec Pierce. Those were the three biggest pieces.

Starting point is 00:07:56 You couldn't afford to lose one of those three if you wanted to maintain your efficiency, and they're able to have all three of those guys back. So very, very good football player, and I'm excited to see what he can do with a much bigger role. Yeah, same here. I mean, he's not, he doesn't have the most wiggle to his game, but I think more than what we've been able to see from him, because really the short stuff. I don't think we want to see him on like bubble screens or anything.

Starting point is 00:08:23 But like the shorter parts of the game, like the short slants and stuff is not something that we've seen be prevalent in his game. So I am pretty pumped to see his route tree expand or just like the usage for him. But also how many times have we seen where we know he is like the biggest playmaker in the passing game, but it's not to like the fourth quarter that he's used, whether it's 2024 or 2025. like just such the inconsistency in his usage week to week.

Starting point is 00:08:54 Like I think it got a little better last year, but he was never get him the ball early and like let him go throughout the game. It always felt like he was used in pockets. And so to see him be a guy who's occasionally going to get eight, nine, 10, 11 targets in a game, like I'm pretty intrigued to see what that looks like. Yeah, no, for sure. And that's the thing too.

Starting point is 00:09:14 Like you can't sign him to this deal unless you are committed. to getting him very involved in the passing game. Like it can't be this one target this week, four targets the next week, eight targets this week, one target. It has to be pretty consistent. Like you're giving this guy seven to ten targets a week. So I think he is capable of that.

Starting point is 00:09:35 I think he is one of the best young receivers in football. He's going to be 26 this season. And he's got his best football ahead of him. I think getting him locked up until his age 30 season is very, very good. And I think he's going to be a really good player in the six. expanded role. So Alec Pierce, I am pumped about this. I'm glad that they were able to get it done. I still think they played it a bit too risky. I'm glad that it ended up working out for them, but even him getting to the market scared me a bit, but I'm glad they were able to get it done.

Starting point is 00:10:05 But in a move that kind of went with this, right, a move that had to be had to happen when you locked in Alec Pierce to be your number one wide receiver. The Colts traded away Michael Pittman, Jr. to the Pittsburgh Steelers. We're going to react to that. Plus the Arden Key, plus a couple other moves the Colts have made today. Workplace chaos, deadline stacking up, the inbox is overflowing, and the one position that you have to fill is still sitting open. When the pressure's on and you need the right hire, this is a job for sponsor jobs.

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Starting point is 00:11:33 There's obviously a very big loaded day of Colts news. It is the official kickoff of Innovo Free Agency. And right off the bat, we got a mega deal for Alec Pierce, the richest free agent contract for a receiver in history. The Colts then, about an hour later, traded Michael Pittman Jr. to the Steelers for a late round pick swap. We don't know exactly the specifications of that quite yet.

Starting point is 00:11:57 Hopefully we get details on that here pretty soon. Colts defensive tackle Neville Gallimore is going to the Bears. And then we also, just as the show was starting, we got word that Arden Key from formerly of the Titans is now a member of the Colts as well. And then here in a moment, we'll also get a little update on Daniel Jones. So, Zach, let's go ahead and dive into the Michael Pittman, Jr. of this all real quick. Let's go, I don't know, let's say it's like a six-round pick. The Colts game, maybe if that, who knows.

Starting point is 00:12:29 So if the Colts being at a swap, they packaged one of their extra seventh, I'm assuming, and Pittman to the Steelers to get a day three pick. Like you mentioned in the last segment, this was something that kind of had the writing on the wall. If you're going to be paying Alec Pierce somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million per year, you're going to have to use them more. But you already have Tyler Warren, who you made an early round investment on last year. Josh Downs, who is usually a high volume guy. You've gotten Jonathan Taylor more involved.

Starting point is 00:13:01 So how were you going to get Pierce more involved if you still have Michael Pittman, Jr. So the Colts are able to pull off a trade, clear up $24 million in cap space, and they now have this open role for Alec Pierce to get more action. Yeah, and the thing too with Michael Pittman Jr., perfectly fine player, like very, very fine player, but like fine is not worth $20 million in an offense where you're paying, Pierce what you're going to be paying him. And then also, again, Tyler Warren wins in that area of the field that Michael Pittman Jr. wins. He lost a lot of juice with that back injury in 2024. And he just didn't really look a ton this past, like look like a ton like himself this past season. So very solid player, but it was time to move on, especially with Pierce ascending and you have

Starting point is 00:13:52 Pittman going the wrong way with his play and his age. So I think picking Pierce over Pittman was ultimately the right choice, even though you're not getting a ton of assets back for him. You had to clear that cap space regardless. So we'll see what the overall view is of this trade once we actually get the compensation in. I would expect it to be the Colts sending a seventh with Pittman for. for like a fifth, but we'll see exactly what it ends up looking like.

Starting point is 00:14:19 But I think the Colts made the right choice on who they chose in this situation. She's the younger player who's ascending over the older player who is going downhill. And at the end of the day, too, like Pierce can do something that most players can't do in this league, which is when on the vertical plane at a very, very high level. Pittman's a fine underneath wide receiver, you know, who like he's a tough player, goes over the middle and makes some tough catches. That's valuable, but it's a lot easier to. find that than some outstanding vertical threat that nobody else really has, right?

Starting point is 00:14:50 Like, again, Pierce wins on the vertical plane better than anybody else. So I think it was the right choice who the Colts ultimately chose. And you had to free up those targets somehow. We'll see what they do with wide receiver two. From what I've kind of gathered, they're still sniffing around the wide receiver market a little bit. The draft has a lot of role players that I think the Colts are going to like. So we'll see what wide receiver two on the outside looks like going into the season.

Starting point is 00:15:12 but I think it makes a ton of sense to go, go lock up Pierce and let Pittman go. Yeah, there's a lot of things kind of at play here with the back injury. You mentioned that kind of zapped a lot of what Michael Pittman Jr. was. Remember, him coming out of USC was a big-bodied yards after catch guy who got a lot done over the middle and cleaned up a lot of the short stuff. That just was no longer his game anymore. You know, again, the back injury, just, you know, in general, older age, like, he came into the league in 2020.

Starting point is 00:15:44 So he's starting to, you know, reach that unfortunate wide receiver age with 29 is kind of that falloff of receivers. So he's getting there. But, I mean, good for him that he was able to secure an extension with Pittsburgh. Three years, $59 million that the Steelers re-signed him to. So great news for him there. But really just as a member of the media, someone who got to cover Pittman every day,

Starting point is 00:16:10 I just really want to say how much we appreciate a guy like that. Like he was with the Colts through some pretty unchilled times. Like he's been through some of the ugliest stuff. He was always willing to speak. He never really filtered himself all that much. Like if he had concerns about something, he would come out and say it publicly as well. He played the, God, how many tough injuries did that guy play through?

Starting point is 00:16:35 So he is someone who I've got to imagine as the old. ultimate teammate. And then again, for someone whose job is to, you know, pull out of the locker room what is being fed and thought, he was a perfect guy to do that. So much appreciation for Pittman. As far as stuff on the field, obviously, this opens the door for the Colts still need to find a receiver because although Pittman's not who he once was, like he was a starter, like he was always on the field. So your guy, stribling, who we mentioned last week in one of our prospect spotlights,

Starting point is 00:17:16 I think he'd be perfect for that. You know, he kind of does a bit of what Pierce does, but also some of what Pittman does as well, or young Pittman with the yards after catch stuff and a lot of the shorter stuff that he can create yards after that. So, yeah, it's tough to see a guy like that go, but it was unfortunately time. Again, a $29 million cap hit this year,

Starting point is 00:17:37 year, that was going to be six highest among all NFL receivers and it was just unreliolistic. Yeah, no, for sure. And real quick, before we get out of this segment, that, we got to hit on Arden Key, Neville Gallimore and also Daniel Jones. Real quick on Daniel Jones. Fully expect Daniel Jones to be signed in the next couple of days by the Indianapolis Colts. It won't be at $50 million per year. I know a lot of people are crying about that. It's not going to be at $50 million per year. It'll be around like $37 to $40 million per year at most. So don't worry too much about that. Neville Gallimore signing with the Chicago Bears, two by 12, I guess two by up to 12.

Starting point is 00:18:12 All these tweets, by the way, are sent out by agents. I need to clarify this. So whatever you see the number being, it's a lot bigger than what it actually is. And that parlay is perfectly over to what I'm saying, or this transitions perfectly over to what I'm going to say about Arden Key, where the number being thrown around is two by 20 for Arden Key. Only 11 guaranteed, though. So it's a two by 11 essentially, guys. So 2 by 11 for Arden Key, 30-year-old pass rusher who last played with the Tennessee Titans. Very meh player overall.

Starting point is 00:18:43 Had some really good play with the Jackson-Wed Jaguars a couple years ago, but not very good with the Tennessee Titans. He's a rotational guy. Again, two-by-a-old. They're not done. Yeah, they're not done when it comes to the edge rusher. But 2-by-11 for him to be your Samson-Ebuccom. type of replacement. I think that's what it's going to be.

Starting point is 00:19:07 Yeah. So we've talked a lot about like specific fits for Lou this this year. Like do you think he can get out and move at all? Like so I know in Tennessee's defense, he's probably asked to do a little more of that. Like I don't think he was just a traditional three point stance defensive end most of the time. But I am skeptical of that. Like I, again, they cannot be done just after Arden Key. That's a very mid to low level rotational pass rusher, but if he's an upgrade over Taekwon Lewis or Samson Ebukom for you or just kind of at that same level, it's fine. I mean, as long as you didn't overpay, it's fine. Yeah, no, I think it's kind of like a Taekwon Lewis type replacement. Maybe even like, again, JT Tomelow.

Starting point is 00:19:49 I didn't really pan out the way they expected last year because I think Arden Key was at his best when he could rush inside and out in a lot of ways. So I think we could see him rushing a little bit inside as well. So yeah, I think that he's a fine player. More of a rotational guy. Just don't start him. And look, it's an upgrade over Taekwon Lewis or Samson, Eviecom. I'm not going to sit here and parade this signing as like, oh my gosh, we're going to win the Super Bowl because we've got Arden Key. But we'll see what he can do in Luanna-Romo system, rushing as the inside out, pass rusher, and hopefully be a little bit more of an upgrade over an Ebukom or a Taekwon Lewis. But coming up, there's been a lot of moves today, guys.

Starting point is 00:20:25 We're going to react to a couple of the biggest ones out there and see if the there's any phomo when it comes to a couple of these signings where players have gone to other teams. We live in a world where we can stream anything, order food in minutes, and carry supercomputers in our pockets. But somehow buying tickets to a live event still feels complicated. Hidden fees, jumping prices, endless steps, there's got to be a better way. But that's why we use the GameTime app here at Locked On. It gives fans the advantage and makes getting tickets simple, whether it's NFL games, concerts, comedy, whatever you're into. I jumped on the app recently to check out some tickets for an upcoming show here in Indy. And it honestly just took me minutes.

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Starting point is 00:21:43 All right, welcome back every dayers. We are talking everything NFL free agency. Frenzy, the Colts have had quite an eventful day. They locked up Alec Pierce to a four-year deal. They traded Michael Pittman Jr. to the Steelers. Neville Gallimore goes to the Bears. That's okay because they got Colby Wooden, who's kind of a direct replacement there. Daniel Jones still in limbo, but it sounds optimistic.

Starting point is 00:22:05 You know, something will happen sooner enough. But there's some big stuff going on around the league right now, Zach. One thing that steps just kind of really stands out to me. The Chiefs, for X amount of years, just let every DB walk out the door go elsewhere. The Rams are picking up everything when it comes to Chief's defensive backs. They traded for Trent McDuffie the other day, an enormous deal and an extension. and then they got Jalen Watson as well, who was the guy I said,

Starting point is 00:22:33 I wanted to target if, you know, Charverius Ward were to leave Indy and the Colts were in the market for kind of a prominent corner. So Watson, three years, 51 million. So 17 million a year, probably a little bit. But the Rams picking up McDuffie and Jalen Watson. Meanwhile, the Chiefs loses those guys.

Starting point is 00:22:53 Yeah. No, I think that's a notable one here. And then just looking at a couple of the other ones. I think one thing that really stands out is while we started recording, all of a sudden the Tennessee Titans opened up the checkbook, and they put out like $10 billion when it comes to free agency. Literally from the time that we started,

Starting point is 00:23:10 they signed John Franklin Myers, Portale Flott, and also Alante Taylor as well for the defensive side of the football. So tons and tons of players on the defensive side for the Tennessee Titans. They had a lot of money to spend, so I think that's pretty notable. Another team that I think spent a lot and spent a lot in a lot of interesting ways are the New York Jets, like they always do, brought into Mario Davis, veteran linebacker, traded for Manka Fitzpatrick,

Starting point is 00:23:34 also beefed up their defensive line with Joseph Osai, and it was Kingsley and Nagbari as well, was the other guy that they signed. So tons and tons of players into the Jets, and overall kind of the edge room across the league is starting to thin out just a little bit with those two off the board and also with Jalen Phillips to the Panthers for $30 million per year to the Panthers. Again, some of these contracts are being overinflated with the reporting. We'll see what the actual numbers end up being.

Starting point is 00:24:04 But some pretty hefty deals going out there. A lot of running backs getting big deals as well, Jake, out there, which might impact the next Jonathan Taylor extension if this thing works out next year for the Colts. Yeah, I mean, Kenneth Walker, 15 million year to the chiefs. Our guy, Alger, who we mentioned would be a nice maybe compliment. he goes to the Cardinals, which did they cut James Connor? Is that correct? No, they reworked his deal.

Starting point is 00:24:33 They rewrote. Oh, wow. Yeah. Okay. So they have Algeria and James Carter. That's really nice. Okay. Some other big ones.

Starting point is 00:24:41 Oh, Travis Etienne as well. God, where did he go? The Saints. That's it. Thanks. Yep. Yeah. Some notable ones, like Isaiah likely, has been on the trade block for like three years.

Starting point is 00:24:53 He finally gets out of Baltimore. He goes to the Giants, three years, 40 million. Mike Evans, after a dozen years in Tampa, goes to the 49ers. Some QB movement, Malik Willis to the Dolphins. That's their new starter after they have designated Tua as a post-June first cut. Apparently the Falcons are super into to us, so we'll see how that goes there. But yeah, just some really interesting moves here around the league. I love what the Raiders are doing.

Starting point is 00:25:20 Tyler Linderbaum, kind of resetting the center market there, going to the Raiders. Resetting in a big weight. Yeah. By double, essentially. Yeah. So you're going to give Fernando Mendoza an elite center in Tyler Linderbaum, and then you already had Jackson Powers Johnson and you're going to move to guard. So I really like that.

Starting point is 00:25:39 We love to see an IU kid set up to succeed right off the bat. So I'm pretty into that. Hey, whoa, they could still take Ty Simpson with that first overall pick. We don't know what they're doing there. If they do, at least he'll survive having Linderbomb. Maybe, maybe. Linderbomb is a really good run. blocker, pass blocking is a little up and down with him.

Starting point is 00:25:58 What else do we have here across the league? We have Wondell Robinson to the Tennessee Titans as well. Did that shock anybody? You know, Jake? I think that was everyone's on everyone's bingo list there. Coral Flott went to the Titans as well. Yeah, yeah, I mentioned all the Titan signings. The Bears, Devin Bush, and Kobe Bryant to.

Starting point is 00:26:16 And Neville Gallimore. Yeah, and Neville Gallimore. So they're beefing up their defense a little bit more. Jamel Dean to the Steelers. That was another corner that you kind of liked a couple weeks ago. again, I still don't think it makes sense for the Colts to go out and sign a big name corner, especially with Moody Ward coming back now. Yeah, not anymore, no.

Starting point is 00:26:32 But that was another one that you kind of liked. Oh, and obviously one of the biggest ones here, Mike Evans to the 49ers, $20 million per year for a 30-plus year on wide receiver. I thought three years was insane. Yeah, three years over $20 million per year for a guy over 30 when wide receivers typically fall off a cliff a little bit after 30. And I'm not saying we saw Evans fall of a cliff last year, but he didn't hit his thousand yards last year. He was hurt most of the year, yeah.

Starting point is 00:27:02 Right. That's kind of what happens with receivers when they hit that age. So risky, risky business there by the 49ers. But I never thought Mike Evans would play for another team. That is a very, very interesting move by them. And also just to kind of build off your quarterback stuff, the Dolphins eating $90 million in dead cap with, or $99 million. and Deadcap would do a just to go out and sign another quarterback for over 20 million per year is wild business absolutely wild business so and it's it's a quarterback who has never been given

Starting point is 00:27:35 the keys to the car before no there is some big risk involved in that as well yeah it's a very very interesting uh and you guys can tell we're kind of going through it as we're recording right now so that's why things are a little bit delayed here uh marcus mariotta reigned with the commanders as well, back of quarterback. That could have been an option for the Colts. So, yeah, a little Josh Joby back with the Seahawks, very good outside corner there for them. Let me ask you this real quick. So our most recent show on Friday or Saturday last week, we talked about the next steps we wanted to see taken by the Colts. Some of them have already happened. Zair Franklin has been traded. Alec Pierce has been locked up. So other than, you know,

Starting point is 00:28:19 Daniel Jones getting probably like a three-year deal, hopefully. what do you hope to see down the pipe? Because I'm thinking, looking at the price of some of these defensive line contracts, when the Colts inevitably land, Trey Hendrickson, they might get him for kind of a lot cheaper than what we all thought. We'll see. Or it might look better than what we all thought. Yeah, no, I think we'll see what he ends up getting.

Starting point is 00:28:49 He might be taking his time because he's got a lot of big offers. you know, that might be a big thing with him. But I think the Colts have navigated this fairly well. And I was critical the last couple of days, obviously, with the direction they were going with potentially letting Pierce hit the market and potentially leave. But I think they've navigated this pretty well. They've made the tough decisions that Ballard typically hasn't done, right?

Starting point is 00:29:11 By moving Zyre Franklin, moving Michael Pittman Jr. And committing to a younger breakout player in Alec Pierce. I think that is the very smart option that they've done. And the next step, though, is continue to build that front seven. And we'll see who they can ultimately land. I don't think they're just going to stop it Arden Key and be done with it. Like some people are upset about in the comments section. I do think they're going to be a little bit more in on that edge rushing room that's out there.

Starting point is 00:29:39 And there's still a lot of guys that we like Boy, Maffa and Arnold Evakiti and a lot of those things out there. So I want to see them just continue to invest in that front seven. And I think they can. I think there's still a lot of good talent out there. and I think that'll be the next step. But so far, I think that they've navigated this pretty well. And then once they're able to extend Daniel Jones, they'll have even more cap space to operate with.

Starting point is 00:30:01 Again, I'm still thinking that they're in the green right now with cap space. So I think they'll have plenty of cap space to do what they needed to do this offseason. Yeah, I still don't agree with how the last like week or so went since the transition tag fiasco. But it seems to have worked out in their favor. Like we knew it could work out. It was just going to be risky, but I still don't think I would have liked to have taken that risk there. But yeah, I'm with you. I would feel a whole lot better about the edge rush group.

Starting point is 00:30:32 If you add another, like you say, boy, A. Mafei, and you draft someone in the first four rounds, already having lots of you there. And maybe JT2MLO gives you something, then it looks like a nice young pass rush group. and we know the interior, they're still, I think, working on that. You know, they just got Wooden, who you just did kind of an extensive film breakdown on that. So so far I'm feeling optimistic if they're able to land kind of a mid-level edge guy, or better, obviously.

Starting point is 00:31:04 Yeah, no. So I think it's been fine so far for the Colts. Obviously, free agency has only been not even a day old yet, so there's still plenty of moves to come. So we'll see how they build out this roster. but so far the biggest domino making sure that their young ascending wide receiver is back in the fold and also that their quarterback is going to be their quarterback next year. I do think that those are the big steps for them right now.

Starting point is 00:31:28 So we'll see where they go from here. But overall, I think it's been better than what it could have been when they made their decision last week with the transition tag. And we'll ultimately see the direction of this team the next couple of days. But thanks again for tuning in to Locked on Colts. We'll be back here tomorrow at the late. but we'll also probably be here later today as well because there's a lot of stuff going on. So make sure you subscribe to our show to get all the latest episodes. And if you don't already, make sure you're following at Lockdown Colts at Lockdown-Colts at

Starting point is 00:31:55 Jack Hicks, too, all on social media. And if you never miss an episode, then the Everyday Air Club is built for you. Get Locked on Colts audio ad free plus members-only Discord access and much more. Head to LockdownColts.com to join the club and remember to use our code free agency to follow the link in our show notes right now. Thank you all. and we'll be back here again, probably later today, to write down even more of these cult's free agency moves.

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