Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS 3/14/19: Expectations for Devin Funchess with Bill Riccette; Colts re-signing Pierre Desir

Episode Date: March 14, 2019

On today's episode of Locked On Colts, Bill Riccette of Locked On Panthers joins the show to discuss why Devin Funchess didn't work out in Charlotte. Also, how should the Colts utilize Funchess' big frame within Frank Reich's scheme? Bill believes the extra help surrounding him (Hilton, Ebron, Doyle, Cain, etc.) will help Funchess turn into a solid No. 2 option.Pierre Désir was re-signed by the Colts on a 3-year deal right below market value. General Manager Chris Ballard strikes again with his contracts. Finally, what remaining free agents make sense for the Colts? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Locked On Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Today's always-been host, Evan Sider. You can follow me on Twitter, at eSider. Make sure to follow our Locked On Colts page if you haven't already, at Locked On Colts. Your support over there is very much appreciated. We're joined by a special guest today, Bill Rossetti of the Panthers Wire. He's on today for about 10 to 15 minutes here to talk about the Devin Funches signing,

what happened in Carolina. Bill, how are you doing today? Doing good, man. How are you? Thanks for having me on. Yeah, no problem at all. Might as well dive right into it while we're at it here. And the Devin Funches signed for the Colts one year, $10 million, $3 million more, and says it gets to $13 million. What was your initial reaction to that around the first day of free?

Was that surprising to you? A little surprising. The amount of money that he got initially. I mean, I guess that was just kind of a shock value type thing. But then when you think about it, you realize the Colts have so much money to throw around. They went in with, what, like $100 million in cap space, so they can afford to kind of throw money around a little bit. So when you think

of it that way it's not too bad you know 13 million compared to however much money they can give that you know compared to how much money they still have left it's really not not that bad of deal to have a big conch or a big receiver for someone like andrew luck and you know it's not like he's going to have the pressure of being the guy in Indianapolis. He's obviously got T.Y. Hilton there, and Eric Ebron really came into his own last year. So I think Plunchish should be okay. So when you think – and it's a little less.

Initially we thought it was $13 million total. So a base of $10 million isn't too bad for a one-year deal for a guy like him. Yeah, he'll be 25 starting next year. I think he might be a really good fit on the outside, like you're saying there, opposite T.Y. Hilton, big-body receiver. Andrew Luck had Andre Johnson. He was a washed-up version, so maybe Devin Bunches could be an upgraded version of what Andre Johnson was a couple years ago.

But let me ask you a couple questions here, Bill, about what you think is going to happen with Bunches now at Indianapolis because, like you mentioned, Eric Ebron, T.Y. Hilton, they also have Jack Doyle, Deion Kane. What is the situation you're stepping into now? It's a very crowded receiver group with a ton of playmakers. It really kind of wasn't like that on the outside for Carolina at all during Funches' tenure, was it? No, it really wasn't. He really kind of had to step into that number one type role as the X receiver.

You know, once Kelvin Benjamin was traded to Buffalo, the spotlight really shined on Devin Funchess. And, you know, the first couple games as kind of the featured receiver after that trade, he fared pretty well. He had a couple games close to 100 yards. He had a solid game in the playoff game against the Saints, but then things started to tail off a little bit. He showed that maybe he really can't be that number one guy. Even as the quote-unquote number one, his snap counts

started to go down as the season wore on. The Panthers really started to focus more on DJ Moore, and it ultimately led to Devin Funchess being a healthy scratch in Week 17 against the Saints. So, you know, he'll maybe never be destined for that top receiver role, but like you said, with a lot of playmakers that Indianapolis has, I think that's more his style as far as not having all that pressure on him. Just let him kind of be that big-body guy that's left my throat to a few times a game and kind of take pressure off guys like Hilton and Ebron and all them. So I think being in this big mix of receivers like he'll be in now with the Colts,

I think is going to kind of serve him well or a lot better than where he was in Carolina. Looking at functions of stats here, the last full season he played, the last full season that Cam Newton played as well, he had a breakout season. He had 63 catches, 840 yards and eight touchdowns in his third season. And then last season when Newton got hurt and also he got phased out, like you mentioned there, Bill, he had 44 catches, 549 yards and four touchdowns. Let's talk a little bit more about just why he was phased out in Carolina there. What happened over the last second half of that season, after that breakout season, and all of a sudden he's out the door a year later?

Yeah, you kind of mentioned Cam Newton. I'm kind of glad because people obviously have to realize, too, that Cam Newton was not 100% last year. That shoulder clearly bothered him a lot more than he initially let on. And he kind of admitted that in one of his YouTube videos not too long ago. And I mean, we could all see it. He just finally admitted to it. And the Panthers admitted to it in like the last two weeks when they shut him down.

But I think it also comes down to the fact that they started to trust DJ Moore a lot more, and they began to really realize the playmaking potential that he has. And like I said, you could tell they really trusted him more, both as a deep threat and over the middle of the field. Curtis Samuel really started to come onto his own, and then he had the two tight ends, Olsen before he got hurt, and Ian Thomas here and there. So there was just a lot more playmakers, I think, on this offense than Devin Funches. So he kind of fell by the wayside because he's sort of one-dimensional, I guess.

Especially in Carolina's type of offense. So there really wasn't a whole lot of use for him i guess you could say uh he started to see them shift more toward wanting to see dj moore take that next step in becoming their new number one you know we compared even steve smith made the comparison himself he feels the panthers haven't had a receiver like steve sm I should say DJ Moore is probably the best receiver that the Panthers have had since Steve Smith. And you really started to see in the second half, and I think you're going to see it more this year, they really start to shift that offense to focus more on him. So it really kind of took away from Devin Funches.

But again, I think it goes back to I think he's probably more comfortable not being the top guy. I think he's going to be more comfortable in an offense with a lot more playmakers around him, not necessarily being the focal point like he was for a time in Carolina. I think, I think move again, moving to Indianapolis, I mean, I sound like a broken record, but moving to Indianapolis in that sense, I think should be okay for him. There just really wasn't a lot of room, I guess, anymore in Carolina. He just basically got pushed out the door, like you said.

Yeah, it seemed that they were kind of moving away from the size on the outside and going more towards speed with DJ Moore and also McCaffrey getting a lot more receiving touches this year, too. But Bunches, the one thing with him that I see a lot of, honestly I haven't watched a lot of Panthers football the last year or so, but the drops is a big thing around Twitter that I see. And also it's a valid argument too that Eric Ebron's situation also was a big thing with drops in Detroit.

So what was with Funches and his drops in Carolina? Was it more of a quarterback thing just leading him and getting that pass thrown his way? Or was it just simply bad hands a lot of the time? I think it was probably a little bit of a mix of both. I mean, again, you go back to Cam Newton's injury. He basically admitted that he couldn't really throw the ball as far as he would have liked to. So there were definitely times where the ball may not have been completely there or the ball was a little off target.

But I'm not going to put all the blame on Newton. I'm not going to put all the blame on Funches. I think it was kind of a mix of both. So hopefully seeing throws now from Andrew, and I'm not saying Cam Newton's inaccurate. Again, I think that was more the injury. But now that you go to a Colts team with a healthy Andrew Luck, hopefully for his sake he'll get a lot more balls,

a little more accurate thrown to him. And then with Cam Newton, hopefully the shoulder surgery they had can help him too, and he can become a little more accurate for guys like DJ Moore and Samuel. So I would say it's kind of a mix of a couple things that led to his drops. And one more thing I wanted to ask you here, Bill, just what's your expectations now for a guy like Funches in Indianapolis? He's going to be the number two receiver, and he's going to have a lot of playmakers around like we talked about so far.

But what do you think is the best way to utilize someone like Bunches in his talents at 6'4", 225? Yeah, I mean, he still has the big size. I think he can still go up and make some contested catches. You know, hopefully it's kind of a better version of what the Colts thought they were going to get with Dante Moncrief when they brought him in last year. You know, because you obviously have T.Y. Hilton that can do it almost anywhere on the field.

So Funches, to me, will probably just be kind of their big box-out type receiver. Let him, you know, maybe give him a couple deep shots. Let him utilize the side. Maybe, you know, playing with someone like Frank Reich, maybe Reich can find a way to utilize his big size. And, you know, with how great of a mind he is, I'm excited to see what Reich can come up with. You know, I'm curious to see how he's able to utilize him

versus how Dorf Turner kind of used him or really didn't use him as much, I guess we could say. So I'm definitely intrigued by this fit. The more I think about it, I'm definitely more curious and more excited how he's going to fit, how they're going to work him and T.Y. Hilton. So I think it's going to be really fun to watch. And then also before I let you go, Bill, I want to just ask a general Panthers question here.

Matt Kula was released today, also functions out the door as well. I know it's hard to say with only a couple days in the free and seeing also the draft not even happening yet, but what's your overall expectations for next season with the Panthers after Cam Newton also came off his shoulder surgery a couple months ago? Yeah, and, you know, I've been touting for a while that I think the Panthers should just cut bait and make Max Lille a post-June 1st release, which they actually did, because it's actually going to save them about $7 million this year in cap space.

But I think the expectations are, I think they should be competitive I think getting Darrell Williams back is definitely huge I really like the Matt Paradis signing so I think the offensive line is definitely in better shape now than it was a few days ago I think they're in a position now where they can shift Taylor Bowden over to the left side and put Darrell Williams back at right tackle so I think the offensive line should be okay.

And like I said earlier, I think you're going to see a lot more of EJ Moore being utilized as the top guy. I like that Eric Reed is back. I'd like to see them, you know, we got to see what kind of stability, you know, what they're going to do with the other safety position. I'd like to see a little more consistency from the rest of the

secondary, particularly James Bradbury, who was kind of up and down last year. Obviously, Dante Jackson had a fantastic rookie season. I'm curious to see how they're going to improve the pass rush. Julius Peppers, even at his age, was still an extremely productive pass rusher. My guess is that's probably the favorite as far as what position they're going to go with that first pick in the draft. Because, you know, I've been touting Garrett Bradbury as a possible pick within the first couple rounds. But now that Paradis is in for three years, I think that position is probably out at least early. So definitely got to get more pass rush in.

I think you got to get some interior rush in as well. I think you got to find some depth and find some long-term help at the defensive tackle position. Dontari Poe, I think, probably only has a year left. Kyle loves a free agent, but they'd like to get him back. So, you know, I think that's going to be the most intriguing part of the soft season, is how they handle the defensive line. I mean, the offense, I think, is going to continue to be explosive. And, again, the fact that I think they've made it seem that they're,

I should say, like I said, their offensive line is definitely a lot more stronger than it was a couple days ago. So that's still without question marks. Still got to figure out what to do at left guard. But I'm a lot more comfortable with the direction of this offense now than I was about three days ago. So I think they should be all right. It's obviously a very tough division.

You know, the Saints are still the favorite. Falcons should still be pretty decent. Buccaneers could be a little improved under Bruce Arians. I think you're looking at another tough division, but I think the Panthers should at least contend for a wild card spot this year. I think I don't see them losing. Hopefully they don't lose seven straight games again this year like they did last year.

Yeah, that would be a rough go about it. But, Bill, I appreciate you coming on today for today's podcast. Before I let you go, plug whatever you want to as far as your Twitter or whatever you want as far as writing goes. I appreciate it, man. Yeah, follow me on Twitter at Bill underscore Setti, R-A-C-C-T-T-E. Panthers Wire is where I cover the Panthers and cover the Bengals a little bit at the Bengals Wire. Obviously, Locked On Panthers. And if you guys are college basketball fans, I've been doing some bracketology work over at Rocky Top Talk, the SB Nation site for the Tennessee Volunteers, especially this week being a big week. Selection Sunday is this weekend, so busy times this week, but it's exciting, and I'm definitely looking forward to what comes next.

What's up, NFL fans? This is Patricia Trena of Locked On Giants here with the big-time news. The New York Giants have traded receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns. No folks, this isn't a drill. This trade has indeed happened and it will become official as of 4.01 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, March 12th, the start of the 2019 league year. The Giants will receive the Browns first first-round pick, number 17 overall, as well as the second of the Browns' two third-round picks, the one that they acquired from the Patriots last year in a trade with New England for Danny Shelton. The Giants will also receive Browns safety Jabril Peppers,

who is in the third year of a four-year rookie contract. For more on this story, including reactions, cap ramifications, and what's next for the Giants after this trade, make sure you check out the Locked On Giants podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Also the draft. I expect them to still go after a cornerback in the draft, but I think it's going to be more towards 59 now.

I expect 26 and 34 to be focused still on defense. I expect maybe a safety at 26 or 34, maybe a defensive lineman at 26 or 34, maybe the outskirts, maybe a wide receiver at 26 or 34. I think those are the three biggest options right now for the Colts. With those two picks, I think 59, you really should hone in on cornerbacks because I think Joe Juan Williams from Vanderbilt, Justin Lane, like Mike Renner said earlier this week on the podcast, he's a guy who likes Amani Aurorie.

Three of those guys should be there at 59. I think maybe one or two of those makes it there. But the Desir sign, like I mentioned, really takes pressure off them now to really have to focus on that early in the draft. So that's a great deal. And keeping continuity and a leader in the locker room as well. Desir had one of the best seasons last year of his career, arguably the best one, on a perfect deal. Per Pro Football Focus, actually, he was ranked as the number one cornerback when defending intermediate routes,

which is a great thing, and it kind of shows the perfect fit here between Desir and Matt Iverflus' zone-heavy scheme. And bringing Desir back for three more years, not a bad idea at all. This year, at the end of that contract, we'll only be 31. He'll be about to turn 32 at the next point of his next contract. So maybe after three years from now, you have this year, mold guys like Quincy Wilson, whoever they draft. And then once this year leaves, they get a comp pick in 2023. And then you move on from there.

I think that makes the most sense. And I think that's how Chris Bowers thinks about it as well. But this year, we'll talk about more on tomorrow's podcast with our special guest, but this year is a big-time signing in my opinion. But let's move on here to the bonuses list. I saw from Joel Eriksson, he tweeted out today the beat right over Indianapolis Star. A few Colts who got nice bonuses for this season so far, and I found this pretty interesting. Anthony Walker led everyone on the list with $307,000.

Chester Rogers, $230,000. Clayton Gethers, $229,000. Zach Paschal, $226,000. Al-Khwadi and Muhammad, $200,000. Nate Hairston, $195,000. George Odom, $162,000. Matthew Adams, $162,000 as well. And Najee Good and Marlon Mack both got around162,000. Matthew Adams, $162,000 as well. And Najee Good and Marlon Mack both got around $150,000.

So it kind of shows you those performance-based incentives there. Anthony Walker really played his butt off next to Darius Leonard this year. Got over 100 tackles as well. Got a big-time bonus out of that. Chester Rars also $231,000. Was a big-time boost in the receiving core whenever he was out there. Also, our key special teams guy, alongside Zach Paschal, who got a lot of money. But the biggest guy here was Kenny Moore, $424,000.

The 16th biggest performance-based pay distribution in the NFL. Kenny Moore, if he plays like he did this year, guys, he's in line for a big-time contract, I think. I think around this year money, probably around $7-8 million would be my guess for a nickel guy like him. And it makes sense. Kenny Moore had his best year. He's very young, too. So I would bet on Kenny Moore having another great season. I would bet on Kenny Moore being a Colt for a very long time.

So I just found that incentive bonus list pretty interesting. Let me know, actually, on LockedOnColts, because our Twitter account at LockedOnColts, who is the biggest surprise with the incentive list? Because I think for me, it might be Chester Roberts. I'm not thinking I'd get that much money, but who knows? I want to hear you guys thoughts on that as well. So let's go on to the top remaining free agents to left. The Colts have around $80 million left to work with, which is a lot of money. That's a lot more than the Jets have. It's about what they have right now, around $40 million. So still some names out there that I like, too, when you think about it. I imagine at this point Clayton Gettys will be re-signed,

so take another $5 or $6 million off of that. So around $75 million and $80 million will be left. Three names that I really like, guys. Darius Phylon, defense tackle out of the Chargers. I think he's 24, 25 years old, 300 pounds, moves really well. I think if they don't go in the draft route here, if they want to get a guy like Darius Phylon who fits the 4-3 scheme that Eberflus runs, I really like that.

I'll be curious to see where he signs. I think the Saints are interested. The Patriots are interested. So if the contenders like them are interested, I imagine the Colts are as well. Phylon is a really good name to watch here. I think he's a bargain bin kind of guy that Bauer would love, also at age 25. The next guy on my list is Adrian Phillips also, which was Darius Phylon's teammate. He's a strong safety over with the Chargers.

Clayton Gathers, if he doesn't get re-signed, I imagine maybe Adrian Phillips would be his replacement. Phillips did really well last year as a pro bowler with the Chargers. I think he makes a lot of sense if they do not get Gathers back, or maybe so. I mean, maybe Eric Berry also cracks his list, too, at safety. There's a couple good safeties left on the market. I know how Clinton Dix just got signed by the Bears today, but there's still a couple good safeties left on the market, guys. You have Adrian Phillips. You have Clayton Gethers, you have Eric Berry.

I wouldn't mind the Colts getting two of those players, to be honest. I think they could have a trio of Gethers, Hooker, and either Phillips or Berry. I think it's a really good recipe for success, and also they could draft a guy in the third or fourth round and mold him. So that's the route I would go. I'm interested to see where Chris Bauer goes the next 24 to 48 hours because they still have a lot of money to burn and they're definitely going to have to have a couple more signings, I think,

before this is all said and done. But the last thing I want to focus on here in the free agency list, Justin Houston, I think he makes a lot of sense. The Chris Bauer connection with Kansas City, still productive even though he's 30 years old, he's had some injury history. But I think he makes sense as a mercenary type of option. I know Mike Renner mentioned that's what the Colts should do on Tuesday's episode,

and it makes sense. Why not go ahead and do that? Because the Colts have so much money to burn. They have a lot of top-quality picks. I think Justin Houston has a leader on the outside to help mentor guys like Kamoko Ture, Taequann Lewis. I think that makes a lot of sense to me on a one- to two-year deal, about $6 million, $7 million per year.

Maybe it's more than that, but the Colts have missed out on almost every edge rusher so far. Maybe if they go after a guy like Justin Houston who's the best edge rusher left, I think that makes up for it. But if they swing and miss on Justin Houston, I think they're going to have to think of maybe a trade option or maybe get a draft option in there in the first two or three picks because I don't feel comfortable, honestly, going into the season with just the way they have the pass rush right now. I think they definitely need upgrades.

They definitely need to get some more bodies in there, some impact bodies in there, too. I think Justin Houston makes the most sense out of everyone on that list. A leader, a willing veteran, a probable productive player. On a one-to-two-year prove-it deal, on a one-to-two-year final deal, maybe, if he retires with this world injury history, why not get a guy like Justin Houston in the building to help push even closer to the cerebral? So Justin Houston to me, I think that makes a lot of sense. His free agency market's really quiet right now.

Makes me think maybe Chris Bowden's lurking in the shadows. They were the former guy like Houston that was with the Kansas City Chiefs. So watch out for that one. I think Justin Houston makes a lot of sense here. But that's going to do it for today's episode, guys. Appreciate you listening. It's a quick one today.

No guests, so I was flying solo here. But we'll be back with you guys tomorrow for our special guest here. He's going to be it for today's episode, guys. Appreciate you listening. It's a quick one today. No guests, so I was flying solo here. But we'll be back with you guys tomorrow for our special guest here. He's going to be a weekly special guest, so I'm excited about that. And he's actually a friend of mine. So hope you guys enjoy that. And until then, I'll talk to you later.