Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS -2/13- What Moves Are Left For The Colts Pre-Draft/Pre Free Agency?

Episode Date: February 13, 2017

The #Colts have began to cut dead weight from the roster, but are there still multiple players to be released? Who fails to be worth their contract? How much can they save against the cap? It's all here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Learn more about our healthy benefits at fepblue.org slash getmore. No, I'm not for sale. You are lockeded On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome back to Locked On Colts, ladies and gentlemen. I'm your host, Matt Dainley. And today we're going to discuss a little bit about where we feel the Colts are going to start plugging some holes and start making some holes as we get a little bit closer to the combine, free agency following soon after, and then this draft that we've got coming up.

So the Colts have already gotten rid of Jaquel Jackson. If you guys listened to the show the other day with Jared Brown, that was phenomenal. Jared really put forth some quality guys that the Colts could go after and free agency in that area. And, you know, I don't think that the Colts are completely done here. It looks like the Colts have some other contracts they could want to alleviate pressure of, you know, one of them in general, and I think that this is not breaking news.

This is pretty widely accepted as far as I know, one of them in general, and I think that this is not breaking news, this is pretty widely accepted as far as I know, would be Arthur Jones. Now he's got 2.2 million in dead cap, okay? He's going to be paid next year if he's on the roster 7.35 against the salary cap. That's a savings of a little bit over 5 million. That is something the Colts can't afford not to do, okay? Jones hasn't done anything for the Colts, even when he was healthy, which was very little. He didn't really supply a great deal of help. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, one of the games that he was initially back for was that game that Jonas Gray just blew up the Colts in Indianapolis against the New England Patriots, and he did nothing against there. It was a couple games after he had come back from being injured, I believe.

At least that's the way my memory tells me anyways. But he really serves no purpose on this roster other than holding a spot on the roster. He's expensive. I mean, he's definitely not worth $7.3 million. He's going to cost another $7.3 next year if he's on the roster. He's expensive. I mean, he's definitely not worth 7.3 million. He's going to cost another 7.3 next year if he's on the roster. And like I said, right now he's only going to cost 2.2 million to get rid of. And they can use that $5 million towards another point in the draft, or I'm sorry, another point in free agency to help bring that in. You take DeQuell and Arthur Jones money, and you've got one of the top free agents in any position with $10 million or 90% of the cost of that. And that's going to be a big

help. Arthur Jones just doesn't do enough to earn, I mean, really even a roster spot, let alone that kind of cash. Now where the Colts go from there is really left to be determined. I mean, it's kind of strange because you have a guy like Patrick Robinson who was just brought in this past season. The Colts brought him in for the 2016 season. We've been used to Greg Toller stuff, being injured, being terrible when he was on the field field and so on and so forth. And then you have now where he's four and a half against the cap. He's also only two million in dead cap money. So basically what that is is what their bonuses are left and any other off the signing bonus, roster bonus type stuff. That's the dead money. That's what that is. And then you take the cap hit four and a half, you still save two and a half million dollars to not have him on the team. Is it worth it? I don't know, because I

don't think that we really got a solid chance to do that. I think he's worth bringing back for no more than he actually costs. Whether he gets a ton of use, whether he started a bunch is kind of against, you know, the norm. I think with as much money as the Colts have right now, they're going to struggle to get to the floor in free agency depending on how active they are, and they've kind of hinted that they're not going to go all out crazy in free agency. They've still got some holes they need to fill. That's going to be a byproduct,

or the draft is going to be a byproduct of what they don't fill in free agency. But when you look at 2018 for Robinson, he's only 500,000 in dead cap. Okay. He's going to cost 5 million against the cap. That's four and a half million savings. He's gone next year if he doesn't have a great year. So, or not next year, but for 2018, there's no chance he's a back on this roster at that, at that point. Kendall Langford is a guy that I really like. I think that at 31, he's a guy that you want to at least think about. He's got almost zero dead cap money. He's going to cost 4.25 for the season. That's somebody they may entertain cutting, although I think that would be a mistake. I think that he's getting

a decent amount of money for what he provides to that defensive line. I think he's a good football player in general, okay? He's everything that Arthur Jones wasn't when he was here. Quality against the run, he can get in the backfield, he can alter running backs where they're going, plug the holes. He does a lot. He's not a top-tier NFL player by any means, but when he was healthy, he was about all the Colts had there for a while. So I think that keeping Langford is something they need to do. Similar to next year, he's cheap next year as well. He's only got $250,000 in dead cap money and he's 4.4 against the cap. If the Colts feel that Langford isn't bringing enough to the table, they'll get rid of him. I mean, it's just really that simple. One of the guys that I don't think

anybody's going to talk about except me because I just don't see out of Dwayne Allen what the Colts need at the pro level. I was never anything near even a college receiver, so I'm not going to go there and try to compare our pasts. But what I am going to say is that his blocking, his inline blocking has decreased in efficiency. He's not as good a route runner. He's a little slower than he was. He continues to be injured. The biggest issue with that is that he's $3 million against the cap, and he's only, I'm sorry, $3 million in dead money, and he's almost $6 million against the cap. That's less than $3 million in savings for losing another tight end. I don't think it's worth it this year. Next year, I think it could be when you're going to save upwards of $4 million. And that's a possibility. On the other hand,

there's a couple teams out there that want tight ends. They aren't so great at tight end in their current spot. They want a tight end that can come in, who can catch the ball, who can apparently become a blocking option as well. I think that the Colts could find some value on the trade block maybe in the third or fourth round for Dwayne Allen if they wanted to maybe get a guy in the later rounds. Apparently there is some depth at tight end. I don't think that's somewhere you want to draft necessarily. That's not what I'm getting at.

But they've got Jack Doyle. They'll have Eric Swope. I think that they're going to be able to find a tight end somewhere, whether it be a free agency, you know, after the draft or just whatever. I don't think that Dwayne Allen brings enough to the table for what he's getting paid. And I don't think that if you brought somebody else in to be that number three, that you're going to have any kind of a fall off with Jack Doyle and Eric Swoop being those two guys. One being the inline blocker and the fantastic pass catcher that also can run out into the flats, also can bust up the seam. And then you've got Swoop, who's a little more dynamic, a little speedier, and has been progressing fantastically each year that he's been within

the Indianapolis Colts roster. So I think that he's somebody that they can also get to rise up again and increase his play. So when it's all said and done, those are like a few guys that I think that the Colts need to either consider cutting, consider waiting, or maybe even consider working on some sort of a potential trade on draft day. Now, one of the things that Colts really don't want to talk about, Colts fans don't really want to talk about that is, is trying to deplete our offensive line or work Frank Gore into another team. Frank Gore wants to be in Indianapolis. Yes, people always touch on how upset he was with how poorly the Colts were playing for a vast majority of the season last year, but Frank Gore isn't going to provide a whole lot in

trade bait, and he's not going to get a substantial amount of money in this upcoming season. So he's three and a half against the cap. He has no dead money. That's $3 million savings, but are the Colts going to start Robert Turbin? I mean, if they don't draft a guy like Dalvin Cook or Fournette, are they going to really roll with a rookie and Turbin and maybe Ferguson or whoever as depth at that position without Gore? I don't think so.

That's just my opinion. You know, if they want to save that three and a half million, that's great. But I also think they're getting rid of a proven veteran who is going to do nothing. But even if they do draft a running back at that position, Frank Gore is going to do nothing, but even if they do draft a running back at that position, Frank Gore is going to have absolutely fantastic work ethic to show this rookie how to become a pro. I don't think he's worth letting go of for three and a half million. It just doesn't seem like it's worth it to me. Maybe it is to you guys. Dorsett, another guy who's been unimpressive as of late. I touched on this in an article not too long ago. Next year, his dead cap

is 3.3. He's only 2.2 off the books. That's negative for the Colts. That's not a good idea. The following year, he's still only a little bit over a million in dead cap. They're not going to save anything taking him off. More or less, that would be a release just on his abilities in general. If he doesn't have a good season, they'll get rid of him because he's not worth it. That extra million dollars isn't a lot of money, but it's worth it to get him off the roster if there's somebody else you can bring in and just use that as a little bit of a buffer when you're doing the contract negotiation. Another guy, like I said, the Colts don't necessarily want to deplete their offensive

line. Joe Reitz, he's another guy with low risk. I mean, he may get injured, but he's nothing in dead money. They'll save 2.4 if they were to let go of him. I don't see that happening because they need more of that kind of depth on the team. They've dealt with injuries in the past. He's been one of them just recently, but they need his veteran leadership on this team. He's been with the team for a few years now. He's a good guy by all accounts. He does a good job.

Even in 2015 when he played, he played pretty well, especially early in the season. And him going down was the reason that Denzel Good got an opportunity at right tackle, which is something that the Colts really can't afford to chance right now. Do they have to draft somebody on the offensive line? No, but they can't just give away offensive linemen that are really kind of nothing off the salary cap. Like I said, they're going to struggle as it is to get up to the floor unless they just overspend, which is not something that we can see, at least at this juncture, Chris Bauer doing. Last year, we would have expected that. He wants to get to the cap floor, so Grigson's just going

to give these guys an extra million or two per year, per annual salary. So that's something. One of the things that I do think that the Colts need to kind of weigh this offseason, I know that Scott Tolzien played well against the Steelers when he came in. But really, Scott Tolzien does nothing for this team, in my opinion. I really, really liked Stephen Morris when he played. I know we didn't get to see him really in a game, but I think that him continuing to work under Andrew Luck, him continuing to work with Brian Schottenheimer, I liked it. I mean, I like him a lot as a backup. I think Tolzien, you know, he can provide a little bit, but, you know, just remember that he didn't really do much, if anything, previous in his year other than sit behind Aaron Rodgers. So it's not

like the guy's got a ton of experience or anything like that. He is virtually nothing in dead cap. The Colts would save less than $2 million, $1.75 if they were to let him go, but he just doesn't really have a spot on this roster, I guess. I mean, if you want to consider him a quality backup, that's fine, and I'm sure that they probably do. I'm just kind of looking ahead probably, and I'm speaking a little bit out of turn, but he's just a guy that I just, and maybe that's it. I just think he's just a guy. He doesn't offer anything out of the pocket. He's not a great throw towards the boundary. In fact, we were watching him in camp and a lot of his throws to the boundary, you would almost call

pick off in the air because they were getting picked off. I didn't see that from Steven Morris. We didn't see that from Steven Morrison in preseason. We saw him rifling the ball, finding guys open, getting out of the pocket, making plays downfield. That's something that I think the Colts really need as their backup. Now, if they want to bring in another guy as their third guy, that's something. But I don't think even with the possibility that Andrew Luck gets hurt, that the Colts are any worse off with Stephen Morris as the backup than they would have been with Scott Tolzien. And I even made an argument that they should start Stephen Morris instead of Scott Tolzien

when it came to the game in Pittsburgh when Luck wasn't going to play. So whether you agree with me or not, that's my opinion. Those are my opinions a lot on what the Colts are coming up with in salary and on the cap. That kind of gives you a little bit of a heads up of what they'll save, but also of what they'll lose if they're to give away some guys a little prematurely or something like that. So we've also got a show coming up tomorrow with Shane Alexander from Inside the Pylon. He's a draft analyst over there and does a good job. Also, just as something to put out there, John Ledyard, who's also a draft analyst over there at Inside the Pylon, as well as Luke Easterling, who is the managing editor at The Draft Wire, those two are going to be taking over locked-on NFL draft in place of Kyle Krabs and Joe Marino. job on that show. I listen to it every day, but I have no fears that John and Luke will bring you just the same quality content on that program. So that's something that's going to come up in

the next week or two whenever they start pumping out their shows, but that'll be a must listen. Absolutely. So congratulations to John and Luke on getting that shot here at the Locked On Podcast Network. Thank you guys for listening. Pay attention for tomorrow's show with Shane Alexander. It's fantastic. He's got a great mock-out right now, and we're going to go through that, and we're going to talk Colts and see where they can go, both in the first round and somewhere in the second and third rounds, and what's important to the Colts.

So thank you guys for listening. Get yourselves on Twitter and follow the show at LockedOnColts. Follow me at mdanley underscore NFL. Please get to iTunes, give us a rating and review so that I can know, you know, kind of what you guys are excited about the show, what you like, what you dislike. And also because those ratings and reviews help the show grow and we are growing quite a bit. So thank you all again. And I'll talk to you tomorrow right here on Locked on Colts. You are Locked on Colts, your daily podcast on the Indianapolis Colts,

part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.