Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts inquire about Deshaun Watson + Jimmy Garoppolo or Marcus Mariota as next QB1?

Episode Date: March 15, 2022

On today's episode, it's time to go over Day 1 of NFL Free Agency for the Indianapolis Colts. What were the biggest takeaways?First off, the Colts re-signed Mo Alie-Cox to a 3-year, $18 million deal. How will Big Mo fit in the offense moving forward?T.Y. Hilton is not retiring. Should the Colts bring back Hilton or let him go?Finally, we close on quarterbacks. The Colts actually inquired about Deshaun Watson, plus smoke around Jimmy Garoppolo and Marcus Mariota remains steady. How will this QB situation unfold for Indy? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello everybody and welcome into your latest episode of Locked on Colts. I am your host Evan Seidry. Go ahead and follow us on Twitter if you haven't already at Locked on Colts. We're with you guys every single day to give you Colts updates around the league. And today is obviously a huge day in the NFL. Free AT kicking it off here. And to no one's surprise really, we've noticed throughout Chris Ballard's tenure, the Colts are very, very quiet right now. Almost $70 million in cap space.

They've re-signed one player. They're potentially going to bring some more guys back as well. We've heard some interesting QB news as well today. We have a first-time guest on the show today, Landon Oliver. I know Landon a little bit. We actually joined the Locked on Colts Fantasy League earlier this year. He's actually run his own podcast as well. He just started the Three-Man Rush podcast.

Landon's a very insightful Colts fan. So I want to give him the chance to have an open platform here and bring him on the show because he's a very insightful guy. I want to get his chance to talk a lot on Colts audience, get his thoughts out there for the mainstream. Landon, how are you doing today, man? Great, Evan. Thank you so much for having me on. And just, you know, it's been a little bit of a quiet day, but we're really excited. There's still some stuff to talk about and some different avenues that we can kind of head into. Absolutely, man. I'm looking forward to having you on because you bring some insightful takes. We actually have an off-the-air on Twitter. We have like a group chat going for our fantasy league this year.

And you always bring some great stuff in there. I want to get you on the show today because it's not been a super busy day for the Colts. It's really been the polar opposite of that. But the first news that we saw today happened about four or five hours in the free agency land. And the Colts re-signed Moe Alley-Cox to a three-year $18 million deal, according to Jordan Schultz, that was later confirmed by Zach Kiefer, and then Tom Pelosero, enough of that work,

put out three years, $18 million. But technically, it's really a two-year, $11.5 million deal landed because the last year of that contract is not guaranteed. There's no dead cap hit if the Colts move on from Moe Alley-Cox after the 2023-24 season. Really, to me, this is Jack Doyle 2.0. It's almost the exact same money they gave Doyle in his last contract on annual value, and he really fills the exact role that we saw that when Doyle left. Obviously, he retired. Now Mo comes back on a three-year deal, really to play the exact same role, a great run blocker. He can help out a little bit in the passing game, but

with Jonathan Taylor in this offense landing, bringing back Mo as a blocking tight end to really steal that edge for Taylor was really a necessity at this point. Yeah, I agree. And, you know, just like you said, Jack Doyle retires, and this kind of became almost a must thing to do for the Colts. You know, familiarity with the system is a big thing. Consistency is a big thing with Frank Reich. So having that option on the tight end market,

they can replace that blocking tight end with somebody who has been there previously. He can continue to grow within the offense. We've seen flashes here and there from him in the passing game and on a really team-friendly deal as well. So this is a win-win for me. I know Mo was excited to get back here I know they're excited to get him back and it fills a fantastic role for the offense and this also

allows them to a little more flexibility because the deal wasn't really you know kind of a major deal that is usually handed out on day one a free agency still allows them some flexibility to go forward fill that move tight end spot with some guys that are still out there on the tight end, you know, the tight end market, as we've seen with the franchise tags and, you know, a few signings today, it has kind of dried up a little quickly, but I still think there's some guys out there that fill the role of what they're looking for in that move tight end, that slot tight end, kind of stretch the field and stuff like that. So to me, there's just a win-win deal for both sides yeah and I'm totally there with you Landon because in this Colts offense Frank Reich loves using two

tight ends he loves using three tight ends as well and I'm very curious to see how Kylan Granson looks next year in year two maybe he fills that move tight end role a little bit but like you mentioned this tight end market has dried out a little bit but compared to Molly Cox what he got today about six million AAV is annual value. We saw Evan Ingram go to the Jaguars state for $9 million on a one year deal. And we've seen other contracts, Zach Ertz getting $10 million per year.

I know Mo is nowhere close to those guys. He hasn't really played the exact same role, but the Colts still have over $60 million in cash base after Molly Cox was signed today. And like you mentioned, this tight end market is thinning out a little bit, but here are some names that I wrote down land in that. I can then kind of fill the role you're talking about.

I think the Colts still want to go after. And by the way, it's a very strong tight end draft class to us. We'll not be surprised if they avoid a tight end and free agency, if they address tight end in early rounds of the draft, but a couple of names I have written down here, Landon, OJ Howard,

Robert Tanya and Gerald Everett and Tyler Conklin. What's your thoughts on those four guys? Those would be like the four most realistic options now for the Colts who aren't going to break the bank, who kind of fill that role that we've been talking about. Yeah, so those are names that I've also had my eye on as well. The one I really had my eye on was CJ Uzama. Obviously, he goes to the New York Jets today,

a pretty decent payday for him as well. So I know a lot of people are excited to see him kind of get a chance to shine in a different role there. But to me, whenever I look at, you know, some guys, they all have their question marks to an extent, but they can all bring a different dimension to the offense. So like OJ Howard out of Alabama, you know, very athletic tight end, dealt with some injuries down in Tampa Bay, not necessarily a stat sheet stuffer whenever you look at him, but he does a lot of things really well. Big body, especially in the red zone areas, can still move even with some of the injuries. He hasn't really lost much of his athleticism, so I think that's an option.

The guy I really want to keep my eye on, and I've kind of heard there is some interest there, is Gerald Everett um so Gerald Everett played last year in Seattle uh former Rams tight end before that if you look at some of his advanced metrics and especially if you look at his athletic scores the guy is just like a freak for a like a physical up the scene pass catching tight end he's a guy evencatching tight end. He's a guy, even at the tight end position, where he can catch a dump-off pass and he can take it to the house.

I mean, he's that kind of an athletic guy. So he's a guy I really like to fit well. Tyler Conklin is another name. I think could kind of bring the same thing. It's just one of those things that all these guys, especially these ones left and with this tight end market in general they all had their question marks so it's kind of you know a pick your flavor thing like you said especially with the draft so when you look into

this draft there's not really you know that Kyle Pitts here there's not TJ Hawkinson here you know have guys that are going to go in the first round but if you start getting into that third fourth fifth round you're probably looking at about 10 names that I've got right now that could possibly be impact players here down the line. It can be relatively decent pieces for an offense. So although you didn't have that big name tied in, in the draft and in free agency, there's a lot of guys that have a lot to bring to the table for some teams. This is the time of year that I pretty much give up all my New Year's resolutions, but not this year. I'm sticking to my resolution to eat right thanks to Bilt Bar. It almost feels like it's not really a resolution because I actually enjoy eating them. Have you

tried the Puffs? If you haven't, you're missing out on one of the best Bilt Bars ever. Puffs are their first ever protein-infused marshmallow. They're fluffy, they're marshmallowy, they're not just a protein bar, they're a treat, and they're covered in 100% real chocolate. Puffs are a fan favorite with some incredible flavors. The Unman's Cinnamon Churro, Coconut Marshmallow, Banana Cream Pie. There are so many great flavors to try. All Built Bars are covered in 100% real chocolate, and 100% real chocolate, and that has Puffs included as well.

Low-calorie, high-protein, replace your candy bars with these. They are better. A typical candy bar can be anywhere from 200 to 300 calories. Go to build.com and scroll down to the macros. You'll be blown away with how healthy it is for you. Only 130 calories, 4 grams of sugar, 4 net carbs, and 17 grams of protein. Compare it to a candy bar, which usually has around 240 calories, 30 grams of sugar, and dozens of net carbs.

Try out the flavors as well. Mint brownie, coconut, coconut almond, and new for this month, white chocolate cookies and cream. They're all delicious and new flavors coming month, white chocolate cookies and cream. They're all delicious and new flavors coming out all the time. If they think that a flavor might be good,

they'll make it. It'll be delicious and they'll get it for you right away. At Built Bar, they're all about taste. They make it taste delicious first, then

figure out how to make it healthy. I don't know how, but they pull out every single time. Go to built.com. Use promo code LOCKED15 and get 15% off your

next order. Again, use promo code LOCKED15, L-O-C-K-E-D-1-5, and get 15% off your next order. Again, use promo code LOCKED15, L-O-C-K-E-D-1-5, for 15% off at Bilt.com. Absolutely, and I think moving forward here, this tight end position will get addressed, whether it be the free agency or the draft. There are a lot of names, again, in this draft class that I like for this Colts team. But another note today, not a lot, like we mentioned on top of the show, Landon, but Maladay Cox is the one thing we saw from

the Colts day as far as signing either an outside free agent or their own goes on a three or 18 million dollar deal but we saw today T.Y. Hilton go on NFL Network he I think it was just a regular guest spot he had but he mentioned really this is kind of no surprise we heard this uh floated out there once Jack Dwell retired T.Y. Hilton is coming back for next season he is going to play play in the NFL next year. Whether it be with the Colts or not is to be determined. He wants to finish his career in Indy, but I don't want to upset Colts fans here, Landon, but I don't know if the Colts would be wise to dip their toes back into T.Y. Hilton once again this year. I know it might rub some Colts fans the wrong way. Why wouldn't you want to have a legend finish his career here? But we've seen the last couple of years. I've been saying on the podcast for a while, Landon,

that T.Y. Hilton just simply is not the same player that we saw a couple years ago. And I'm kind of worried with the injuries stacking up and his lack of separation. I don't know what next year will look like either. I think it might be best just to rip the bandit off with T.Y. Hilton and let him go. He's obviously a living legend for the Colts organization. Was a part of that Andrew Luck era, was a stable, and now will be a future Ring of Honor member.

But I don't know if the Colts would be wise to bring back T.Y. unless it's a super cheap deal where T.Y. knows, hey, it's going to be a couple million dollars per year. I probably play about 30% of the snaps, and that's it. What's your thoughts on T.Y.? Because now we know he wants to come back next year. The question is whether Chris Bauer wants to do it again or whether he'll be forced to do it again,

because Jim Irsay was the main reason behind T..Y. Hilton comeback last year. Bauer did not want to do that last year either. So I'm kind of curious now if Bauer has control on that and whether they let him walk. So what's your thoughts on this whole T.Y. situation? Yeah, well, even last year, you know, he turned down less money over in Baltimore to come back to Indianapolis because, you know, he wants to be here. So I think that's a big thing. But I think you put it perfectly whenever you use the term rip the Band-Aid off. I kind of thought that's where they needed to go last year as well. Obviously, they didn't.

They re-signed him. The injuries have mounted up. You know, it does seem like he's lost a step. But with Reggie Wayne coming back, I'm kind of curious to see how much of a discount he could take because of, you know, how close him and Reggie are. And that's some other news as well you know Reggie Wayne now wide receiver coach Frank Reich's been after him for the last four years I believe so we finally got him on board I'm curious to see how that impacts you know some of these wide receivers coming to Indianapolis with a chance to learn from a guy like that but when it comes to T.Y. Hilton I I mean, it's tough because he is a legend.

He's revered around here for his production. He's just been, bar none, one of the top guys almost all time in the Colts organization, just as a person, as a player. So it's never easy to let a guy like that walk. But if he wants to continue playing and especially having a big role, I just don't see that here for him I think getting some guys in getting some young guys in whether that's in free agency guys like DJ Shark who's you know still 25 years old maybe they draft the guy you know maybe bring you could bring him in for a decent price to kind of help those guys along with Reggie and I mean with those two combined you just have a wealth of knowledge and veteran leadership in

that wide receiver room. And it allows Michael Pittman to continue growing into that guy for another year. But, you know, outside of that, if he's looking for a big role, if he's looking for, you know, some type of money, some type of, you know, something to kind of fulfill him as he's on his last legs, maybe chase a ring, something like that. I just don't know if I see that role here from him. Yeah, it would have to be some like one year, $3 million, maybe throw in the incentives in there that he probably wouldn't reach. He didn't reach any of his incentives last year with the Colts were on that contract. So I think it was one year, $7 million. It could have been 10 million

if you've reached those incentives, but outside of nothing else happened for ty and i i agree with you lane i think the best idea here would bring to probably let ty go but if he does want to come back zach keeper has mentioned before that the wide receiver coach might have played a role in ty wanting to come back and probably reggie wayne like you mentioned would play a role in wanting ty to come back the question is if he wants a bigger role i just don't know if that's here so do you think ty i mean i have to imagine he probably would buy into that role because i mean he probably wants to retire a call he said that he said that himself today but do you think ty would buy into a role where he plays like 25 30 of the snaps because i just don't see this team needing ty to play or 50 50 60 70 of the snaps anymore no and i mean it does kind of

depend on how they attack the wide receiver market and free agency in the draft, which I fully expect them to still do because, you know, regardless, you see the big deals to Christian Kirk, you see the big deals, the Zay Jones, you see that, but you know, there's still a lot of really productive guys out there that I think can play that type of role. And I think you would get better production from. So, I mean, it just really depends on what he's wanting, you know, during his last year. Cause I do think regardless of what happens, I do think he retires after this year especially with Jack Doyle retiring because

he's been on record now saying, I'm going to, you know, basically do what Jack does. Well, he still has something left in the tank that he feels like. So I don't know if, you know, like he gets that here, but I don't know if he's willing to accept the kind of role that we would need him for, as opposed to wanting to be productive, chase a title. And we as Colts fans too, like we should want that for TY. Like we should want him, you know, if you're not going to be here, go chase a title to a contender go get that ring yeah I'm right there with you I mean honestly if T.Y. doesn't want to accept a really small role I hope he ends up in like a Kansas City or a Buffalo or somewhere along those lines of Tampa Bay I think you make a lot of sense in that Antonio Brown type role where you'd be like a veteran in that

Buccaneers offense but whatever T.Y. decides to do he's been an awesome awesome Colt. Whatever they want, if he comes back, I'm cool with it, but it's a small-term deal. If it's more than that, I'll kind of have some hesitations about it. But we'll obviously keep monitoring T.Y. Hilton moving forward here. But we have two names that were linked to the Colts today. One's already been signed, brought up earlier in the show, Landon. Evan Ingram signed to the Jaguars today, who went on a huge spending spree today,

giving Christian Kirk Tyreek Hill-esque money. That just really made me shake my head as to what they were doing there. But outside of that, I mean, Evan Ingram was linked to the Colts before he signed to the Jaguars. And then one other name I heard as well, I think it was via Jacinta Anderson from USA Today, that Marquez Valdez-Scantling is the one name we at least know, confirm, that the Colts have been tapping interest to. He's a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers, a deep threat, a freak athlete, definitely fits Chris Ballard's mold. He's in the prime of his career. I think he's 27 or 28 years

old. 4'3", 5'40", at 6'4", really a huge burner on the outside. With the market, though, I mean, we're seeing Zay Jones get $8 to $10 million per year. It'd probably be around that same type of money land. Do you feel comfortable chasing a guy like MVS or looking at these other whiteout options? Like a DJ truck would probably be close to 12, 13, 14 million per year. Now,

maybe you go after a Jarvis Landry. How do you feel about the whiteout market currently? Cause there's a lot of guys off the board now, but there are still some names out there that make a little bit of sense for the Colts like MVS. He's been linked to them. Yeah. So when you look into MVS,

so here's another thing that not a lot of people are talking about when it linked to them. Yeah. So when you look into MVS, so here's another thing that not a lot of people are talking about when it comes to him, I believe he ranked 16th out of all qualified wide receivers last year. I think they had like 150 something wide receivers. He ranked 16th in Pat or in run blocking. So not only can he run the four, three, five, not only is he six foot four, but the guy competes and, you know, he works his butt off in the run game. And that's a huge part of Frank Reich's system, especially if you're a wide receiver. You know, we've seen it with Zach Paschal. We've seen it with Michael Pittman. That's the type of guy they're looking for. So it doesn't surprise me at all to see, you know,

him link to them. The guy I really have my eye on is DJ Shark, who might be a little cheaper coming off of that injury, you know, the ankle fracture. And he's another guy who runs a four, three, five, I believe he's six foot four, just an absolute burner. They need a guy that can stretch the field because, you know, they're, they were hoping that guy was going to be Paris Campbell. Obviously you can't really count on that. Um, and it would be nice if he could still, you know, if he does end up doing anything, but you can't go into the season counting on a guy like that. And Michael Pittman, although he can do it, I mean, we saw towards the end of last year, the guy was like, you know, he's facing double, triple teams almost every game at the end of last year. So you need a guy who can stretch the field first and foremost.

And how you differentiate some of these guys is you start looking at, you know, fits in the offense, how they compete they compete how they run block and how much they're going to cost as well so um the Colts have the money they're willing to dip their toes into that but I think the route for me would be kind of like a shark kind of like MVS a type of guy like that and then you know you address it in the draft as well because this is an extremely extremely deep wide receiver class in the draft which is almost kind of puzzling why you know not necessarily Jacksonville because Jacksonville it seems like for the last five years they've been offseason champions they just go all in on the offseason we see it consistently not pay off for them so none of what Jacksonville did surprised me today. But generally when you're talking about wide receivers, you know, over the last, you know, 2020, 2018, even last year, I mean,

we've had such an influx of talent in the draft and these guys are coming in more prepared than ever to where they're coming in. They're ready to be an impact player almost right away. And so when you're handing out big money like that, you kind of have to take a step back out big money like that, you kind of have to take a step back and say like, Hey, you know, is this, is this production that's going to be worth, you know, what we could get similar or almost similar to a guy in the draft. So I do think they need bodies there with MVS. You're a little more farther along than you would be a

rookie and you already know what you're getting in the run game but yeah there I mean there's still lots of options out there yeah and honestly Landon a good point you brought there about the draft this is a very strong receiver draft and with the way it's bouncing so far as far as free agency goes there's gonna be a stud receiver there for probably more off more likely not at 42 overall to be able to five spots in the draft with that Carson Wentz trade so they could get a legit 1a or a 1B if they see a guy around and one slip a little bit. If they feel like there's a guy they want to trade up for, they have the ammunition to do that as well.

So real quickly, I just wanted to ask you before we dive into some quarterback talk, how do you feel about this draft class? Because I think it's a really realistic scenario here where they bring back T.Y. Holt on a one-year deal, Ashton Doolin signs his free agency tender, and then they probably draft a guy at 42 because the way the wide-out market's going today with Jacksonville kind of ruining the market there with Christian Kirk and giving Zay Jones $10 million per year, we know Chris Bauer hates betting wars, Landon. So there's a scenario, in my opinion, where at this point, I would not be shocked at all if they just ran it back and drafted a guy at 42.

I know Colton's wouldn't like that, but that feels like a very realistic scenario on the table right now. Yeah, and I can tell you this from some stuff that, but that feels like a very realistic scenario on the table right now. Yeah, and I can tell you this from some stuff that I've read and kind of dipped my toes into. There's a lot of GMs that are not very happy right now with Trent Baalke because of how he overspent at that wide receiver market and how he's kind of set the other GMs up now to have to match that. There's not a lot of people happy with him in the NFL world. So it'll be curious to see how some of these guys end up getting paid. I still think they add a guy from free agency. It might not be a big type of name, but I think it's going to be

a productive guy. And like you said, I mean, you're talking about now, you know, with combined performances, which you never really want to put too much weight into, but as we know, it does affect some things. So you're looking at guys like David Bell from Purdue, who I know you guys are very familiar with, you know, being Indianapolis Colts fans, you know, a lot of you guys watch Purdue. So there's talk now about David Bell possibly sliding even into the third round, you have George Picking, Jamison Williams, John Meche,, Calvin Austin III is a guy that I love. I've fallen in love with him, not only just because of the combine, but you put it on tape and the guy just flat out gets open every play. So there's so many guys that you could get in that scenario

that that's what I'm saying is you're looking at the production that maybe these guys can bring you and some of the stuff that these guys do well, as opposed to going out and, you know, spending 10 million, 13 million, maybe even upwards of 15 million. If you're looking at a guy like Allen Robinson, which I believe they're not, you know, from what I've seen, but you know, some teams going to pay that money. So at that point, you know, is it worth it as opposed to getting a guy like a David Bell, you know, towards the beginning of the third, middle of the third round. It's that time of year again as college basketball term is finally upon us. From all the latest odds, contests, and player props,

BetOnline.net is the number one source for your sports betting needs and info. BetOnline.net is the best spot for your sports scores, podcasts, and news this season. And it's not just basketball. BetOnline.net is your continued source for all your fair wagering needs, including live betting and fair Vegas casino games. Head to the website or use your mobile device right now, sign up today, and learn more about the trends in action at BetOnline. BetOnline, where the game starts.

Yeah, and that's a valid point you bring up there, Landon, because if I was Allen Robinson's agent right now, a single Christian Kirk guy today, I'd be asking for $20 million and not blinking about it just because the market is just so different now just because of what Jacksonville has done today. And they are definitely free agency winners so far, but like you mentioned, they have been winners every year so far. It hasn't produced results on the field just yet.

But we're going to get into the interesting part of the show now because I was thrown a major curveball today. I think you were too. When the news broke from Adam Schefter about four hours ago, recording this at around 1030 Eastern time on Monday night, Deshaun Watson landed. I never thought we would hear the Eastern time on Monday night, Deshaun Watson landed. I never thought we would hear the Colts connected to Deshaun Watson, especially with the off-the-field stuff going on.

Deshaun Watson, by the way, was cleared criminally from his charges civilly. It's still out in the air for all those cases. I believe it's 22 that were out there. 22. Yeah, 22. But the main thing is with that is that according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Deshaun Watson, the Indianapolis Colts, here's the exact tweet. Houston has declined Indianapolis' attempt to speak with Deshaun Watson

for a source. Houston is comfortable trading Watson, just not in the AFC South. So immediately I saw that and I was really taken aback, Landon, because one, I never expected the Colts to do that. Two, I'm shocked it leaked publicly like that. And three, I mean, maybe Deshaun Watson is actually considering the Colts after all this, and maybe the Texans just rebuked that and said, you have no chance of getting in here, so move on and try your next team, Deshaun.

But what's your whole thoughts on the situation? Because we've been talking about off the air a little bit with those criminal issues, with the off the field stuff. I was very taken aback and kind of shocked the Colts were even inquiring about the Sean Watson but I mean it was kind of a Hail Mary move by the Colts there but what's your opinion of this whole Watson situation and how the Colts even inquired there yeah so I have a few different thoughts with it um you know for me like from a personal level I'm not a fan of it because you know we've heard from years now

with chris ballard you know character is the most important thing that's what we're going to bring into the locker room when we venture into free agency or trades we look at the character of the guy so to have all this stuff floating around here and you know let's not you know sugarcoat it sexual assault is a major major thing so to have a guy like that, when, especially at the quarterback position is going to be the face of your franchise. And to inquire about that, it goes against everything that he's preached. And so then you look back at, you know, past free agency moves where the, you know, they kind of sit on their hands, you know, don't make any big moves and you look at it and you're like, well, character might be an issue with this guy. Character might be an issue with this guy. This almost kind of ruins

that for me where it's like, well, you know, clearly character is not an issue now. And maybe part of that is because they are feeling a little heat from Jim Irsay to get it, you know, an impact player at the quarterback position and making no mistake about it. Deshaun Watson at his best as a top five quarterback in the NFL. So maybe, maybe it's just something as simple as doing their due diligence. Maybe it's something to, you know, show their locker room where it's like, Hey, we might, you know, we might land Jimmy G. We might land Jimmy Garoppolo or, you know, that's what I meant by Jimmy G. We might land Marcus Mariota, but you know, we attempted to do that.

So maybe it's for locker room optics. I'm also kind of surprised that leaked. And I imagine the Colts are not happy that it did, but you know, we attempted to do that. So maybe it's for locker room optics. I'm also kind of surprised that leaked. And I imagine the Colts are not happy that it did, but you know, maybe this is a PR thing. Maybe this is them actually being interested in the talent, but you know, for me, it's, it's extremely shocking, uh, to hear that with all that going on. And as much as this front office and the coaching staff have preached character and stuff like that, that you would inquire about a guy who, although, you know, he was cleared of criminal charges, sexual assault cases hardly are ever charged criminally. Most of them are settled in civil court. So that wasn't really much of a surprise to anybody. And now, you know, he still

has these civil cases pending. I this friday as well he's doing another deposition and we'll see what comes of that but then you look at even from an on the field perspective where you know ezekiel elliott was suspended six games there's been other guys you know with even just one civil case they've been suspended multiple games almost half the season and this guy has 22 of them So we don't even know what the punishment from the NFL is going to be, even when he is, you know, cleared or signed or traded. I mean, this is a guy you might not even be looking at playing next season. And with Watson too, like, like Schefter mentioned, Indianapolis did reach out and inquire about Watson. Houston just

flat out declined it saying that we're not going to do it. We're not even going to entertain the possibility of shipping Deshaun Watson to a division rival. But it makes you wonder, Landon, because a lot of people were saying, oh, like the Colts were never actually interested in what I saw on Twitter. But, I mean, if you're actually inquiring and giving a call, you have to be at least interested on some sort of level. And it makes me think, like, how high was the price they were willing to go

for that, Landon? Because I think if they were willing to get into the Sean Watson race, that's a lot of first round picks, potentially some of your best players on the board going to Houston. Yeah. And look, if you're reaching out to a team, if you're inquiring about a player, you're interested. I mean, it's, you know, two plus two equals four. That's, you know, it's not some magic little thing that just goes away where it's like, Oh,

well, even though we reached out, we're not really interested with this guy. I don't buy that one bit. They were interested in him or else they would have never made the phone call. And then it does go into, you know, obviously Houston's not going to entertain it. I don't think anybody's surprised by that. It's almost kind of silly to sit here and think that they would. But at the same time, he does have a no trade clause. So could this be one of those things where maybe he says, hey, look,

I want to go to Indy. I don't want to go to Carolina. I don't want to go to New Orleans. You know, New Orleans, who knows what's going on down there with their cap situation. You know, it never seems to impact them, but eventually, you know, you're going to have to pay the pod piper down there. So who knows what that team is going to look like.

Carolina has been a mess for the last few years, and you've got to think, if Carolina trades them, I've heard Brian Burns, three first-round picks. I know last year McCaffrey, I believe, was in the deal as well, because they've been on this for quite a while, Carolina has. So who knows what kind of team he would even be going to but when you look at the Colts you know Deshaun Watson kind of holds all the cards here to where it's one of those things where it's like well I'm going to the Colts or I'm just not going to play and at that point who knows how that plays out because you know the Texans clearly don't want to send them to the Colts and have to play them twice a year I don't I don't think there's even a question in that but now you know even without the NFL involved

if that is say that is where he wants to go say he doesn't want to come to the Colts and Houston says no now what happens in his camp because is he going to sit there and get fined for the rest of the season and just wait his contract out I mean I don't really think that's an option because he has I believe three to four more years left on it. So, I mean, it's just an all-around – it's a sticky situation. I don't believe the Colts will land to him, so I don't want anybody getting their hopes up for anything. But it's definitely intriguing to think about for sure.

Yeah, and it's really just an optics thing. That's what I think me and you are both focusing on here because, like you mentioned, character is the biggest trait in a crisp-out era era and Deshaun Watson is the polar opposite obviously you have your day in court you have your chance to save your innocent or guilty and maybe the Colts are trying to get involved in that as well to get Watson's thoughts on it but if you're inquiring if you're calling about a division rival's quarterback you are most certainly interested there obviously that is off the table now with Texas refusing to even let the Colts get in the conversation so to say but it's so interesting the Colts even made that call.

But let's go ahead and dive over to some other quarterback options here, Stephen, or excuse me, Landon, because you see in this situation where it's honestly, it's not with two guys, in my opinion. We saw Mitch Trubisky go to the Steelers. We saw, we've seen a couple other QB, Domino Stahl as well, Teddy Bridgewater to the Dolphins. It feels like to me, this is kind of a leverage play right now between the 49ers and the Colts because we keep hearing smoke all around Jimmy Garoppolo to the Colts right now.

Ian Rapport said earlier today as well on NFL Network that the Colts are considered the favorites for Jimmy Garoppolo, but no deal is currently imminent. The Colts, I think, probably have an offer on the table, Landon, that the 49ers, they're trying to lowball the 49ers, so to say, and the 49ers have until Wednesday to agree on that so they can free up $27 million in cap space. What's your whole opinion of those Jimmy G's scenario?

Because it feels like, to me, there's been no movement on Marcus Mariota either. So it feels like, to me, that plan A is Jimmy Garoppolo. If they can accept that deal that the Colts are offering, probably like a fourth or fifth round pick, and if the 49ers say no up until Wednesday, they probably have a deal in place already for Marcus Mariota where they're ready to sign Mariota when the Niners back out on that. So do you have the same read on that, Landon, where it feels like it's down to two guys now for the Colts keeping one in 2022 between Garoppolo and Mariota?

Yeah, and to me, it's always been these two guys. I don't think they were ever really in on Trubisky or Teddy Bridgewater, any of these other guys. I don't even really think they were in on Russell Wilson, just because I think he had his sights set on Denver, so I don't even think they even bothered with that. So I think it's always been Jimmy Garoppolo, and it's always been Marcus Mariota.

That's what people that I've talked to, they've been hearing for months, is that's the play. So now you get into the optics of, well, how do we go about trading for Jimmy Garoppolo? Cause you trade for Jimmy Garoppolo, you take on $27 million. So it almost kind of wipes out the Carson Wentz contract.

I mean, they still save a million, but you know, it's, it's nothing to that, but then, you know, you're going to,

you're going to have to give up picks to get him. And I think that was a lot of people's hangs, you know, we're hung up on with but then you know you're gonna you're gonna have to give up picks to get him and i think that was a lot of people's hangs you know were hung up on with the jimmy garoppolo deal is like well not only do we have to pay him we've got to give up picks to get him whereas marcus mariotta you can probably sign him for something similar like trubisky got this year um i believe seven million per year up to 12 million with incentives so obviously that's a cheaper deal i think the 49ers have almost kind of mishandled this a little bit now because that quarterback market has really dried up with Pittsburgh getting their guy Washington trading for Wentz the Broncos getting Russell

Wilson you know so really that leaves Carolina and the Saints who are both into Deshaun Watson and that's who I fully believe one of those two teams will end up with Deshaun Watson. And, you know, that leaves the Colts. They'll leave Seattle. It seems like they're possibly targeting a rookie with that ninth overall pick, maybe Malik Willis lands there. And so now the 49ers almost kind of have their hands tied where it's like, well, now the market's dried up.

There's only a few teams left that we would trade into. And Jimmy has enough goodwill there that I don't think they're just going to ship him off to somewhere where he doesn't want to be. I don't think John Lynch is that type of a GM. So when you're looking at Seattle, maybe he doesn't want to go there for a rebuild. The Colts are pretty much the best roster left as far as you can come in, you can compete for a job,

and you have a really good supporting cast around you with a chance to compete for the division um so yeah this this to me just kind of seems like it's going to come to a head relatively soon because i know the colts probably have other moves they want to make and jimmy garoppolo has to be cut by wednesday or else that cap hit you know the 49ers have to be under the cap by wed. So far, they're not. The easiest way to get there is for them to move Jimmy Garoppolo. So this does kind of seem like they're at a stalemate with each other from stuff I've heard from 49ers guys. I believe you saw the same thing because you might've even been the one that sent it to the group, but they're talking about now,

some of the beat writers were talking about possibly even just a day three pick swap, not even just a day three pick, a pick swap. So they just need to get off of that contract, and they need to do right by Jimmy G, and I think that's kind of where they're stuck right now. And if it doesn't come to that, if they don't want to play ball with the Colts, I think the Colts do have Marcus Marion in their back pocket.

So they have all the leverage in this situation. Yeah, Landon. So I actually went on the Locked on 49ers podcast last week, and we had a mock trade negotiation. And I was comfortable enough, in my honest opinion, not knowing what was next in the QB dominoes. I gave up 82 overall for Jimmy Garoppolo, and that was the deal we came up with. And now it seems like the 49ers are losing leverage, like you mentioned there, where they have to move him probably by Wednesday,

unless they want to restructure guys for no reason and keep Garoppolo around for the highest bidder. But it seems like it's kind of a game of chicken now where the Colts, I have to assume, have an offer on the table to San Francisco for Jimmy Garoppolo. And one thing we should also know is that John Lynch and Chris Power have a very tight history of making blockbuster trades. The DeForest Bunker trade, they had an agreement on for over a month

before that leaked out to the media. It makes me wonder if something's already in place with Garoppolo and it's just not going to happen until Wednesday. What's your thoughts on that idea? Yeah, well, like you said, they have a great relationship. So both front offices are very tight-lipped. I don't think anything would leak out, but it does seem like we are getting a little more information on it coming from like Rappaport and some of these other guys. So maybe that is kind of a play to try to up the offers you know from possibly even other teams to make the call to offer go up but everything i see right now it kind of points to a day three pick i think they missed their window you know even last year there was talks of first second

rounders for him and they could have moved him last year after they drafted trey lance there were teams willing to give that up and even going back to a month or two ago, you're looking at a second-round pick for him or maybe multiple third-rounders, just kind of a package like that. Well, now look, he said there's two days left. You have to be under that cap by Wednesday or else you're going to have to restructure guys for no reason for a guy that's on the trade block.

And we've heard all the mouthpieces say, well, they're comfortable with keeping Jimmy Garoppolo for another year if they don't get a deal that they like. I don't buy that one second. I think they're ready for the Trey Lance era to start. You don't draft a guy that early and have him set an entire season to just have him sit on the bench again. And I don't think you can bench Jimmy Garoppolo with that kind of a salary and what he means to that team. I think every bit of it, they want to do right by him because of what he's done for that franchise and what he brought that franchise. When they were kind of in a similar situation to where Indianapolis was, they're in purgatory. They're out there starting C.J. Beathard.

They make the trade for Jimmy Garoppolo when they're 0-5, you know, or when they're, no, they were 0-8. And they go on to win the next five games in a row after Jimmy arrives. So he kind of saved them from that quarterback purgatory, brought them to an NFC Championship game, brought them to a Super Bowl. He has a fantastic record as a starter there. And for all he's brought to them, hey, we got to do right by this guy. So to me, like you said, it's a game of chicken. And with the Colts having Mariota in their back pocket I just I don't see it ends any other way other than if

they are going to move them to Indy it's not going to be for much draft capital I mean from your opinion Landon because like I mentioned I was comfortable giving a third round pick for Garoppolo if it's even a day three pick or a day three pick swap, like Dieter Kurtenbach, the columnist for San Francisco Chronicle mentioned earlier today, and maybe the outright cut him before Wednesday at this point. I mean, even if it's a day three pick, like let's say you get 122 overall, their fourth round pick,

or even less than that, a fifth round pick, or if they do indeed just swap picks on day three, that's a home run for the Colts, isn't it? Absolutely. Absolutely. To have a guy that's that revered in NFL circles. Because, look, the way the NFL views Jimmy Garoppolo is not in the same light that fans and media view Jimmy Garoppolo. That guy's a bona fide stud in the locker room.

He does things, you know, to help young guys along. Debo Samuel, Trent Williams, all these guys, George Kittle, they speak very highly of how Jimmy Garoppolo has helped them become the player they are today. And those guys are all pro, all level type players. And I don't think, you know, I don't think fans see the day in and day out of what goes in to being an NFL quarterback. That guy comes in and he immediately, you know, takes hold of the locker room. He works harder than almost anybody in the room. He helps young guys. And you're not even getting into the on-the-field stuff where a lot of the stuff that he does

doesn't show up on a stat sheet. You know, you look at the third down conversions. You look at in, you know, passing situations where you are required to pass talking about third and eight or longer um you know he was first in the nfl yards per attempt which is a huge frank reich stat um i believe he was third in the nfl this season and you know some of that is because of yards after catch but what normal fans don't understand yards after catch is a quarterback stat yeah you got to have talented players but you got to have the quarterback that can get them the ball in rhythm and, you know, to where they can catch the ball and they can

make those type of moves. And Jimmy Garoppolo is elite at that. And he's elite in so many areas where this team values quarterback play. And if you can get a guy like that for a day three pick or best case scenario, he's outright cut because we're, you know, the Colts are on his list of teams he wants to go to. And if I'm not mistaken, they're more than likely the favorites. So if you can get him for even a cheaper salary and not have to give up anything for him, that's the best case scenario. And here is, I think the plan plan b because we've heard

nothing on marcus mariotta maybe that changes by the time this is out or if you hear us by tomorrow morning for example but marcus mariotta there's been absolutely nothing on his situation there's been no rumors or suitors because that that to me sounds like a chris bowers special where it's very quiet media wise he has in his back pocket where hey marcus and your agent actually share the same agent person went Wentz and Marcus Mariota. So probably in talks with Mariota's agent who shares it with Wentz saying, hey, if this falls through Jimmy Garoppolo by Wednesday, we're going to go and sign Marcus and just stay on hold for us

and we'll have you in your back pocket in case that happens. Do you feel like that's a very plausible scenario here where if the Colts feel like, hey, we're only going to offer you a fifth-round pick, and if you say no to it, we feel very comfortable giving Marcus Mariota a one-year $10 million deal or even less than that probably because Trubisky only got $7 million per year today from Pittsburgh, so maybe it's even less than $10 million per year. If that's the case, I feel comfortable going in that route as well because both these guys are capable stopgap options for one year, whether it be drafting a rookie this year or next year, because I think Mariota in this Frank Brick offense with Jonathan Taylor will be actually very intriguing to watch.

It will at least be entertaining. Yeah, and people are very quick to forget that before Carson Wentz became available last year, they entertained offers of trading for Marcus Mariota last year when he was with Las Vegas. So they're clearly very high on him, very high locker room guy. And like you said, you know, two different types of offenses because with Jimmy Garoppolo, I think you kind of go back to that Phillip Rivers style of an offense where very run heavy eye formation, maybe some RPOs thrown in there, but you know, you're not going to get a ton of

mobility while he's not the statue Phillip Rivers was, you know, you're not going to get a ton of mobility. Whereas Marcus Mariota, it's all mobility, you know, and you can almost kind of run a similar package, very, you know, almost kind of like they did in Oregon where RPOs, SRPOs, those type of, you know, designs. And he's very adept now at getting the ball out quickly. He can get it out in rhythm. He's very accurate, you know, as he was in Oregon, which, you know, some of that dropped off in the NFL, but there's a lot of other factors that went into Marcus Mariota not performing well in the NFL. Some of that is on him, but, you know, I think Frank Reich, as we've seen, has been able to get really, really good

quarterback play no matter where he goes or where Ballard goes with the quarterback position. So he's able to get the best out of his guys. And even though they would run two almost very different types of offenses, I think both of those guys fit what the Colts are looking for. So they're looking for smart quarterbacks. They're looking for accurate quarterbacks. They're looking for guys that can just run the offense at an efficient level. And, you know, the highs aren't going to be as high as they were with Carson Wentz. You're not going to get plays like you got in Arizona to win the game, but the lows are definitely not going to be as low as well. And I think that's what they want is just a little bit more consistency, a little bit more

level play. And both of those guys, I believe, can give it to you. Yeah, less volatility, especially from Carson Wentz to these guys. And it's crazy to say because the Colts gave a first-round pick for Carson Wentz, number 16 overall in this year's draft. It's a huge bullet they had to swallow there. But they got out of the Carson Wentz deal. They gained an extra third-round pick, potentially a second-round pick in next year's draft as well. And what's crazy to say, Landon, is that, in my opinion,

I think you agree with me on here as well, is that it feels like, to me, Marcus Mariota, Carson Wentz, and Jimmy Garoppolo quarterbacking the same Colts offense. I mean, maybe I'm crazy, but I feel like Marcus Mariota could lead the same team to a 9-8 record like Carson Wentz just did. I feel like these guys are all on the same tier where the Colts getting out of that deal and getting picks back and maybe doing sort of like a money ball thing with getting like a Mariota or trading less for Garoppolo. I think you're kind of in the same tier or even better where you have more flexibility now with the salary cap getting off of Wentz's full contract where you can actually improve the team and still have the same kind of quarterback.

Yeah, and to me, like with the Carson Wentz thing as well well that's the mark of a good GM is you know realizing you made a mistake and although it might not all be Ballard and you know a lot of it might have come from Ursae you know they were willing to move off of him because he clearly wasn't the guy there for them and he wasn't going to be the guy in the future whereas you know we saw with Ryan Grixen with the Trent Richardson trade and I hate to kind of bring up you know flashbacks for Colts fans on this but how many times did we see you know two three years now where they just trotted Trent Richardson out there to no avail and no matter what happened or how bad he played he was right back in the next game or he was right back in the next snap um you know so part of being a good GM is realizing you made a mistake, rectifying that mistake, which I think we both agree that they got back more than anybody thought they would

from Washington in the deal and almost kind of recouped it. And, you know, people are acting like, yeah, they gave up a first round pick, but they're acting like, hey, you know, they lost their next three, four first round picks for the wins trade. So, yeah, it might be a loss for one season but in the long run this might be the better move for him and with Marcus Mariota and with Jimmy Garoppolo we've both seen them work well with rookie quarterbacks if they do want to go that route this year which I think if they go Mariota this year I think it's a lot more likely you see them draft the quarterback this year

whereas Jimmy Garoppolo they might kind of set their eyes on next season and just try to build around Jimmy for this season and then might go get their guy here next season because 2023 is a very, very, very good quarterback class, especially at the top. You know, there's a lot of high-level players there. So maybe that's when they make their Patrick Mahomes or Trey Lance move in the 2023 draft, you know, after they get Jimmy. So, you know, both these guys have been willing to work with young quarterbacks and the, you know, not they get Jimmy. So, you know, both these guys have been willing to work with young quarterbacks and the, you know, not even quarterbacks, but wide receivers, tight ends, offensive line, you know,

these are guys that can get your team into the correct checks that can get them into the correct looks. They can deliver the ball accurately and on time and efficiently. And I think that's what the Colts are looking for because a lot of people, you know, they step back and look and they look at an individual talent upgrade. And I think that's where people get hung up on it is, you know, is Carson Wentz more individually talented than Jimmy Garoppolo? Absolutely. Is he more individually talented than Marcus Mariota? Absolutely. I don't think anybody argues that, but there's a lot of different ways you can upgrade your offense and have it run more efficiently as opposed, you know, to being just an individual talent upgrade. So I think if you take a step back, look at the whole picture, I think a lot of more people can get on board with Jimmy Garoppolo or Marcus Mariota. And especially once they see the product on the

field next year, I think it's honestly going to open some eyes. Landon, last one I had for you here before I let you go, man. I appreciate the time, and this has been an awesome conversation, man. Hopefully we can have you on more throughout the offseason here. But one last point I had for you before I let you go, to get your prediction on the spot here. I'm going to put you on the spot, but I'm going to give my prediction as well here closing out the show because this quarterback move for the Colts

could happen at any time. It could happen right after we end this recording. So what's your prediction here, Landon, for what the Colts QB1 is going to be in 2022? think it's gonna be Mariota Garoppolo or someone else I mean right now you know on the spot if I had to pick I do think it's going to be Garoppolo I just think all signs point that direction there's just way too much smoke there for me to not think something gets done and I know Jimmy wants to come. I know the Colts are interested as well. So he does kind of have a little bit of leverage. And like I said, San Francisco wants

to do right by him. So I do think it goes, you know, the Garoppolo route personally. And for me, that would be my top option from the guys that are left on the field, especially if you can give a day three pick or maybe even possibly a pick swap. I think that's what a lot of Colts fans were hung up with, with Jimmy Garoppolo is yes, some of it was on the field swap. I think that's what a lot of Colts fans were hung up with, with Jimmy Garoppolo is yes, some of it was on the field, but I think a lot of it was, Hey,

we're going to have to pay this guy and we're going to have to give up compensation to get him. So if that compensation ends up being day three, I think a lot of people are going to feel a lot more comfortable with it. I'm right there with you, man. I mean, honestly,

I was on board to get up a day to pick for Garoppolo. If it's the case where it's less than that now, which all indications are, it's going to be, I think it's a home run for the Colts. They were going to get Jimmy Garoppolo on board here for a day three pick. But Landon, this is going to be all for our episode today, man. Really appreciate you coming on. Colts fans, if you aren't already, go ahead and follow Landon on Twitter,

at Landon289. He's a great follower on Twitter, very insightful for those out there. So boost his followers on Twitter. He also has his own podcast as well. He just started up, so make sure you follow his content over on his podcast page as well. But Landon, I appreciate the time to that, man. It's a lot of fun. Yeah. Thank you so much for having me on. And I definitely look forward to some future conversations.