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Cuts, Cap Space, and More: Indianapolis Colts Free Agency

Everything you need to know about the Indianapolis Colts heading into the 2023 free agency period.

Zach Hicks

The Indianapolis Colts are heading into a pivotal offseason in 2023. The team is coming off of one of their worst seasons in years and they are starting over at head coach. On the bright side, however, the team is in great shape to add a young and dynamic quarterback with a high pick in the NFL draft.

Looking past the typical storylines only talking about the Colts' need at quarterback, this team has quite a few decisions to make this offseason to improve the overall roster. With the official start of free agency just over a week away (March 15th), here is everything that you all need to know about the Colts before the new league year kicks off.

Current Cap Space

The Indianapolis Colts currently sit with roughly 13.6 million dollars in cap space at this moment. There was a slight adjustment finalized league-wide a few days ago that gave the Colts an additional $717,000 in space to work with in free agency. While this overall number doesn't seem like a ton for the team to work with, there are a few cuts the Colts could make to create more room.

Potential Cap Casualties

Matt Ryan, Quarterback: Ryan is by far and away the most likely cut option on this list for the Colts this offseason. The team can save 17.2 million dollars in space by making this move (and will eat around 18 million dollars in dead cap with this transaction).

Ryan Kelly, Center: Ryan Kelly could be a surprise cut candidate for the team this offseason. He has cap hits of over 10 million in each of the next two seasons, despite his play falling off in recent seasons. The Colts would save just under eight million dollars in cap space by releasing the veteran starter (they'd eat 4.5 million in dead cap this offseason).

Kenny Moore II, Cornerback: Moore II's time in Indy appears to be near the end. The team can release/trade him this offseason with zero dead cap if they want to save some money that way. The team would save 8.16 million dollars against the cap with this move.

Rigoberto Sanchez, Punter: This one is a bit tough, as Sanchez is a great punter but who knows where he is at physically and mentally after a difficult two year stretch for him. The Colts can save 2.9 million dollars with zero dead cap if they release the veteran punter.

Mo Alie-Cox, Tight End: Alie-Cox is just one year into a three year extension he signed last offseason. The Colts would eat a dead cap of 2.39 million dollars by making this move but save 2.91 million dollars by releasing the veteran tight end. 

Nick Foles, Quarterback: Foles is unlikely to return to the Colts in 2023 despite signing a two-year deal last offseason. The team would save 2.1 million dollars by making this move while eating a dead cap of 1.5 million.

While all of these moves aren't guaranteed to happen, the Colts could easily turn their 13.6 million dollars of cap space into just over 54 million before even touching any restructurings.

Current In-House Free Agents

The Indianapolis Colts currently have 17 in-house free agents that they have to make decisions on prior to next Wednesday. Here is the big list of players set to hit free agency:

  • Yannick Ngakoue, DE
  • Matt Pryor, OT
  • Brandon Facyson, CB
  • Tyquan Lewis, DE
  • Ashton Dulin, WR
  • Rodney McLeod, S
  • Bobby Okereke, LB
  • EJ Speed, LB
  • Ben Banogu, DE
  • Dennis Kelly, OT
  • Parris Campbell, WR
  • Armani Watts, S
  • Matt Haack, P
  • Tony Brown, CB
  • Chase McLaughlin, K
  • Khalid Kareem, DE
  • Byron Cowart, DT

Team Needs / Potential Free Agent Options

Roughly speaking, the Colts will have 30+ million dollars to play with this offseason once they release Matt Ryan and make a few other moves. Here are some of their biggest needs in the free agency period and a few names that could make some sense for the team at each spot:

Veteran Backup Quarterback: With the team likely to release both Matt Ryan and Nick Foles, the Colts will be in the backup quarterback market this offseason. There are a few names to watch here that the Colts have had interest in over the past few season.

The main players to watch are Jameis Winston (Saints), Marcus Mariota (Falcons), Andy Dalton (Saints), and Gardner Minshew (Eagles).

Slot Wide Receiver: As of right now, it is uncertain if free agent receiver Parris Campbell will be returning for 2023. If Campbell does leave in free agency, slot receiver becomes a major need for the Colts this offseason.

Some notable slot receivers on the market this offseason are Sterling Shepard (Giants) and Richie James (Giants).

Right Guard: Will Fries performed admirably down the stretch for the Colts last season, but the team has to add some more veteran competition for this spot this offseason.

Some notable players to watch include Isaac Seumalo (Eagles), Nate Davis (Titans), ansd David Edwards (Rams).

Blocking Tight End: This may seem like a negligible need to some fans, but the Colts desperately need somebody to emerge as a decent blocking tight end in the run game for 2023.

Some names to watch include Chris Manhertz (Jaguars) and Josh Oliver (Ravens).

Defensive End: With the potential departures of Yannick Ngakoue and Tyquan Lewis, the Colts could find themselves in the defensive end market yet again this offseason.

Some players that make sense are Clelin Ferrell (Raiders), Rasheem Green (Texans), Efe Obada (Panthers), and Solomon Thomas (Jets).

Cornerback: Brandon Facyson and Kenny Moore II are unlikely to return to the team in 2023, leaving vacancies at both slot cornerback and outside corner this offseason for the Colts.

Some players to watch include Marcus Peters (Ravens), Isaiah Oliver (Falcons), Sean Murphy-Bunting (Buccaneers), Trayvon Mullen (Ravens), and Amani Oruwariye (Lions).

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Zach Hicks
ZACH HICKS

Zach Hicks is the Lead Analyst for HorseshoeHuddle.com. Zach has been on the NFL beat since 2017. His works have appeared on SBNation.com, the Locked On Podcast Network, BleacherReport.com, MSN.com, & Yardbarker.com. 

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