Horseshoe Huddle

ESPN Links Colts to Star Wide Receiver

The Indianapolis Colts have the cap space to make a league-changing move.

Sean Ackerman

Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins celebrate a touchdown.
Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins celebrate a touchdown. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The Indianapolis Colts are entering the 2025 offseason with over $30 million in effective cap space, leaving enough money to make a big move. If the Colts elect some cut candidates, the team could realistically see a boost to nearly $50-60 million in cap space.

Indy could haul in elite players and invest in their future with that kind of money. The Colts need help on both sides of the ball and failed to prove consistent play worthy of postseason football.

That's why ESPN analyst Dan Graziano thinks the Colts could make a massive move. Graziano feels like the Colts have the resources necessary to make a run for Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins this spring.

"Do the Colts have the means to make a run at Tee Higgins?" wrote Graziano. "Sure. The Colts should be around the middle of the pack in terms of cap space... They don't tend to use it all in any one offseason... But if this is the way they wanted to go, they could absolutely make a run at Tee Higgins."

"The Michael Pittman Jr. extension (signed last offseason) isn't an impediment, either. Pittman's 2025 cap number is $23 million, but the guaranteed money on his contract runs out after this season. So the Colts could build a Higgins contract that pushes the bigger cap number into 2026 and beyond. Again, this is if Indianapolis wanted to do this -- pursuing Higgins on a big-money deal just doesn't feel like a move the Colts would make."

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Graziano makes some valid points, but it's hard not to agree with the sentiment that the Colts aren't the team to sign a major free agent. Higgins has spent his entire career proving his name next to superstar receiver Ja'Marr Chase, making it harder for Higgins to earn some of the spotlight.

Higgins proved himself toward the end of the 2024 season with a spectacular performance against the Denver Broncos. Over the last four games of the Bengals' season, Higgins totaled 230 receiving yards on 28 catches for five touchdowns.

Standing at 6-foot-4, Higgins is a one-on-one beast. His elite jump-ball ability separates him from the pack and could make him a lethal weapon in the Colts' offense. The issue is, the Colts already have a stacked receiving corps.

Pittman, Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, and AD Mitchell headline a young, capable group of pass catchers. If the Colts make a move on Higgins, there would be too many mouths to feed.

Considering general manager Chris Ballard's lack of a will to make an expensive deal, it's hard to foresee the Colts signing Higgins. If they do, the offense will have some serious firepower entering the 2025 season.

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Sean Ackerman
SEAN ACKERMAN

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