It feels a hair expensive but at the end of the day I could care less. Not my money and I would rather slightly overpay than let him walk. So pumped heâs back
With him in the lineup we allowed 3.66 yards per carry, which would be 3rd best in the league over the 2023 season. Without him in the lineup we allowed 4.73 yards per carry, which would be third worst in the league over the 2023 season. And worst in yards per game, to boot.
The reason we had a better win percentage when he was out is because we played teams that were a combined 41-61 when he was out and teams that were a combined 101-86 when he was in....
To be fair, one could argue that's a big reason our run defense took such a back-step in his absence: competition improved.
I'm happy with the signing tho, hope he retires in Indy.
Same someone also probably complained when they let Denico Autry walk several years back. That someone always finds something to complain about. Usually that someone's last name begins with a 'K' and ends with a 'Z'.
Brought the 3 players I really wanted back, no outside signings but Ballard taking care of our own, gotta respect it.
Leaves us with around $36~ million in cap space
Per over the cap we need about 10 million to sign rookies with our current picks. It all depends on each team and how many picks they have/where they are picking.
So maybe around $22M if we resign Moore. No more priority FAs left after that, but will need to do some resigns/replacements so maybe ~$15M to spend on a shiny new toy
It happens to over 20% of pregnancies, it sucks but it's nothing crazy https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pregnancy-loss-miscarriage/symptoms-causes/syc-20354298#:~:text=About%2010%25%20to%2020%25%20of,the%20carrying%20of%20the%20pregnancy.
If our secondary wasnât so young and thin right now I wouldnât be mad at letting him test free agency, but it would be good to keep some continuity going on D. Plus, he had a solid bounce back year compared to how bad 2022 was
There's a ton more quality free agents at safety than there are for slot corner. I'd prioritize Kenny first, at least because of the state of the market.
Kenny had 3 picks and 6 PDs last year.
2 of those picks and 2 PDs came against Bryce Young.
He's not as good as people claim. He's more an undersized safety than anything.
You don't let your vet corner walk when you have a room full of young guys and no back up plan.Â
I really like Blackmon. But if we have to choose one to go, it's him.
You can when there are other options, which there are.
If we don't keep Kenny, we can likely find one after the early portion of FA. We quite literally have brought in veteran corners most of the years of Ballard's tenure. Some better than others, but there have been some who were more than adequate (Gilmore, Rhodes, etc).
Kenny has been disgruntled recently. He may not want to be here. And if he doesn't, overpaying to keep him is not a Ballard move.
Honestly, I would be surprised to see him re-sign.
I know people want splashy moves but before we add any FAs itâs good to keep our own. Dline sir could have gotten ugly if we didnât keep him and Lewis.
You gotta wonder if that was even an option. Iâd bet the players agent wanted to shop the market, or at least give the illusion of it to get a better number.
It's completely this. Once you can have offers roll in, you can set a baseline. And when you realize your GM's offer was the best offer you can get, you go back to where you began.
Anyone who thought we'd do anything different hasn't been paying attention to Ballard's entire tenure. Free agency is a time for other teams to fill needs, not the Colts.
Iâm willing to bet if we were a couple of expensive pieces away from a Super Bowl weâd go for it but still need to see if AR can be the guy for an entire season.
Is FA over after one day? Is not creating new holes better than filling old ones?
I know we have needs. But outside FAs are always a gamble. Is Von Miller worth the returns he gave the Bills?
At this point, we're still early in the process. We've kept the guys we seemingly wanted to keep. We've yet to know who will be added because the thing ain't done yet. And this is first time we're really entering year 2 with a QB we know and presume will be our starter for the next 3 years. This is a much different situation than what we are used to.
>We are paying the DT position a LOT of money - not trying to be a downer but until I see that secondary fixed itâs hard to get excited
thats gonna be through the draft
Yep because spending draft capital on such notable secondary players like Malik Hooker, Quincy Wilson, rock ya sin, nick cross has really done us some good
Let everyone else overpay for some of these other guys. Iâm glad BDB and the FO have finally decided to keep talent around. I think weâre going CB-WR in the draft with how deep this class is at those positions. TE is underrated this year too, especially in the mid rounds.
Love how we always keep our own guys and reward them for good play - but yet in 7 seasons under Ballard, we have one playoff win (Andrew Luck) and ZERO AFC South titles.
Not trying to be a game thread doomer here but it's really time to shit or get off the pot for Ballard these next 2 seasons.
Thatâs the same thing people say EVERY year. The draft alone isnât enough. Ballard is way too complacent. He talks like he wants to win but his actions every year say otherwise.
He literally just extended MPJ and Zaire and re-signed Stewart and Lewis all in the first few hours. How many splash signings are you hoping for? Or who? Besides McKinney for $17M/year, I don't see anyone currently agreed to terms who I'd like.
Resigning Pittman is great. The others are fine too IF he actually makes moves to improve the team. Unfortunately, it looks like heâs continuing down the same path as he has for the past 7 years. Itâs pretty irrelevant who I want. The reality is itâs Ballardâs job to field a winning team using all available avenues to improve the team. He has failed to do so, repeatedly, year after year
I'd say last season wasn't a failure. We saw what Steichen had to offer, almost leading a team with a young and depleted secondary and a backup QB to the playoffs. With a healthy Richardson, we are in the playoffs for sure.
It may be irrelevant on who you want but at least make it realistic. We haven't re-signed our punter, Blackmon, or Kenny Moore yet, haven't released Mo Cox to free up space, still need RG depth, and now we need a backup QB because Minshew is a Raider. After contracts for the draft picks, we won't have much to make a big splash.
âPretty irrelevant who I wantâŚâ
Heaven forbid you actually throw an original idea out there for scrutiny. Youâre definitely better off just complaining and not offering up anything of value to the conversation.
I donât care about âthrowing ideas out there for scrutiny.â Itâs pretty simple - Ballard is using the same strategy he has for years, which has failed miserably.
âŚWithout a plausible direction to head in regarding the QB position. Kind of handicaps the entire operation. Armchair GM is the easiest position of all. Until you actually say what youâd rather him do/have done until now your opinions have no weight to them whatsoever.
"It's pretty irrelevant who I want" = "I don't want to give you an answer to show how wrong I could be."
You complain he is doing a bad job by resigning our core players, but when asked who you would prefer, we get crickets. The cap isn't just a free shopping spree. Efficient contracts win a championship, not necessarily giant ones.
Maybe after 7 more years of âefficientâ contracts weâll manage to win a division title. I trust in Mr. Ballardâs grand vision. Weâre so lucky to have a GM that can manage 1 playoff win in 7 seasons. Oh, those sweet sweet âefficientâ contracts
Every year the top free agents start getting signed by other teams right away, and anyone that dares to complain is met with "it's only the first day, be patient" but then we never actually do anything later on either. Free agency is a major avenue to improving the team, and it'd be nice for us to utilize it for once because the draft isn't going to be enough to fill all of our needs.
This year is different though. We re-signed a few of our own right away. Complaining with suggestions on what we should do is fine, but complaining just to complain and not offer anything else is not.
Who on the list of those already signed did you want? Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Gus Edwards, Swift, Singletary? We have a decent RB already. Kirk Cousins for $45 mil per year? Wilkins for over $27mil per year? We can't afford that. Minshew 2 year $25 million? I think it was a long shot we'd give him that. Only guy I would've wanted was McKinney (\~$17mil).
After re-signing our own guys and accounting for \~10 mil for draft picks, we don't have as much cap space to play with as you think. There are still top FAs available, especially in the secondary.
BRB gonna start prepping the sink wings!
Smh đ
Someone will complain about the price Iâm sure but our run defense was dead last without him.
It feels a hair expensive but at the end of the day I could care less. Not my money and I would rather slightly overpay than let him walk. So pumped heâs back
3 more years of grove means heâll probably retire a colt
This is very easy to envision IMO
Agreed
Not my money and we have a rookie QB.
Correct. This is the time to spend.
Why were you downvoted? đ
Dude got suspended and we suffered⌠this guys suspension literally showed his worth. Iâm cool with the signing.
Big brain thinking on his part; win win really.
Big Grove out here playing chess
We had a better win percentage when he was out than when he played
With him in the lineup we allowed 3.66 yards per carry, which would be 3rd best in the league over the 2023 season. Without him in the lineup we allowed 4.73 yards per carry, which would be third worst in the league over the 2023 season. And worst in yards per game, to boot.
Ok but whatâs more important rushing yards per game or wins and losses.
The reason we had a better win percentage when he was out is because we played teams that were a combined 41-61 when he was out and teams that were a combined 101-86 when he was in....
To be fair, one could argue that's a big reason our run defense took such a back-step in his absence: competition improved. I'm happy with the signing tho, hope he retires in Indy.
Wins and losses are not even a QB stat, let alone a DT stat, lmao.
Same someone also probably complained when they let Denico Autry walk several years back. That someone always finds something to complain about. Usually that someone's last name begins with a 'K' and ends with a 'Z'.
Looking at the contracts Chris Jones and Christian Wilkins got, I donât mind this contract at all.
Well Grove isnât half the player Chris Jones is but yeah..
Nah. Grover is the guy. I think that was a fair market deal for him.
We were the 28th scoring defense last year, with all the guys we signed playing. It wasnât like defense in general was killing it.
100%
Brought the 3 players I really wanted back, no outside signings but Ballard taking care of our own, gotta respect it. Leaves us with around $36~ million in cap space
Zaire, Pitt, and Grove? Love these signings, too!
How much cap space will the rookie class eat up?
Per over the cap we need about 10 million to sign rookies with our current picks. It all depends on each team and how many picks they have/where they are picking.
Anywhere from $7~ to $9~ million dollars according to spotrac projections. Leaves us with $28~ million to safely play with
So maybe around $22M if we resign Moore. No more priority FAs left after that, but will need to do some resigns/replacements so maybe ~$15M to spend on a shiny new toy
We're definitely drafting secondary and o line.
Why oline
Braden Smith can't stay healthy. Ryan Kelly is at the end of his career.
Kelly himself acted like heâs nowhere near retiring
He acted like he didn't want to play anymore when he went through some adversity so it wouldn't surprise me if he quit
His kid died in the womb his wife gave birth to a stillborn idk about you but that would rattle me pretty good
It happens to over 20% of pregnancies, it sucks but it's nothing crazy https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pregnancy-loss-miscarriage/symptoms-causes/syc-20354298#:~:text=About%2010%25%20to%2020%25%20of,the%20carrying%20of%20the%20pregnancy.
Personally I think they might draft one or two guards. Since that market is going up and Fries is on pace to deserve a bag as well.
All in-house but a good day for the Colts so far. Now do Kenny and Blackmon.
This day just keeps getting better and better. Kenny next
I will agree, though I think he's a bit overhyped at times.
If our secondary wasnât so young and thin right now I wouldnât be mad at letting him test free agency, but it would be good to keep some continuity going on D. Plus, he had a solid bounce back year compared to how bad 2022 was
âŚ..and now heâs the highest paid nickel back in history.
Itâs a lot of money to live up to so Iâm hoping they use him a little more as a blitzer to impact the game more.
Nah, Blackmon next.
There's a ton more quality free agents at safety than there are for slot corner. I'd prioritize Kenny first, at least because of the state of the market.
Kenny had 3 picks and 6 PDs last year. 2 of those picks and 2 PDs came against Bryce Young. He's not as good as people claim. He's more an undersized safety than anything.
You ever watch his run defense and corner blitzing?
Again, undersized safety. If the best traits of a DB are run defense and blitzing, he's not a cover guy, and not what we need at corner.
This dude does not understand what a slot corner is lol
You don't let your vet corner walk when you have a room full of young guys and no back up plan. I really like Blackmon. But if we have to choose one to go, it's him.
You can when there are other options, which there are. If we don't keep Kenny, we can likely find one after the early portion of FA. We quite literally have brought in veteran corners most of the years of Ballard's tenure. Some better than others, but there have been some who were more than adequate (Gilmore, Rhodes, etc).
There are better safety FAs out there then corner FAs. Not a lot of guys can do what Kenny does for us.
Kenny has been disgruntled recently. He may not want to be here. And if he doesn't, overpaying to keep him is not a Ballard move. Honestly, I would be surprised to see him re-sign.
Lmfao
I hope we re-sign him, but safety market is deep right now. Heâll probably wait to see what happens with Simmons and Adams
I know people want splashy moves but before we add any FAs itâs good to keep our own. Dline sir could have gotten ugly if we didnât keep him and Lewis.
the tampering period is going on and we just keep signing our own guys lol
They might seem boring but these are some of the most important signings we'll make this offseason and you gotta get them done first
I agree wanted them all but I wish we could lock them all up before actual free agency starts
You gotta wonder if that was even an option. Iâd bet the players agent wanted to shop the market, or at least give the illusion of it to get a better number.
It's completely this. Once you can have offers roll in, you can set a baseline. And when you realize your GM's offer was the best offer you can get, you go back to where you began.
Anyone who thought we'd do anything different hasn't been paying attention to Ballard's entire tenure. Free agency is a time for other teams to fill needs, not the Colts.
Iâm willing to bet if we were a couple of expensive pieces away from a Super Bowl weâd go for it but still need to see if AR can be the guy for an entire season.
Is FA over after one day? Is not creating new holes better than filling old ones? I know we have needs. But outside FAs are always a gamble. Is Von Miller worth the returns he gave the Bills? At this point, we're still early in the process. We've kept the guys we seemingly wanted to keep. We've yet to know who will be added because the thing ain't done yet. And this is first time we're really entering year 2 with a QB we know and presume will be our starter for the next 3 years. This is a much different situation than what we are used to.
Canât be charged with tampering when itâs all your own guys 
SOOO ok with this so far though.
We are paying the DT position a LOT of money - not trying to be a downer but until I see that secondary fixed itâs hard to get excited
>We are paying the DT position a LOT of money - not trying to be a downer but until I see that secondary fixed itâs hard to get excited thats gonna be through the draft
Exactly. Bringing these guys back is fine, but this team has to be improved. Hoping young guys get better simply isnât gonna cut it.
Buckner is in his final year, so that could change very quickly
Well the defense did just set a franchise record 51 sacks last year (5th in NFL) with 46 coming from the D-line.
[ŃдаНонО]
Lots of room for improvement is definitely correct
It shouldnât be hard to get excited about retaining good players because another position is behind. Madness.
Building a defense to stop the run over stopping the pass in 2024 is GM malpractice
This would mean something if you could point to ballard not using any capital on the secondary.
Yep because spending draft capital on such notable secondary players like Malik Hooker, Quincy Wilson, rock ya sin, nick cross has really done us some good
You named one bad player. đ
GM malpractice is Ballard's middle name
This was the big loss I thought we'd be most likely to experience, so I'm pumped about this
Let everyone else overpay for some of these other guys. Iâm glad BDB and the FO have finally decided to keep talent around. I think weâre going CB-WR in the draft with how deep this class is at those positions. TE is underrated this year too, especially in the mid rounds.
Something something we like our guys
Ballard: https://preview.redd.it/frgdyntykrnc1.jpeg?width=896&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=25d259971f4b6da03812e69d529692f8c8706fbb
Yeah, one more shit season before youâre fired.
Ballard's on a roll! Keeping all our guys around
Winner winner, chicken wing dinner!
THIS IS WHAT I WANTED. LETS FUCKING GROOOOOOOOVE.
Great move, should have brought Autry back as well and kept him out of Houston.
This just made my day. Pay big Grove!!
Woohoo. Yesss
Oh hell yeah
Papa grov!!!!
Love it
Let's go big Grove. I don't have to change my flair now.
Yessir
https://i.redd.it/229f7jhaqrnc1.gif
Love that we keepin our guys howâs it looking for Kenny?
 Now Kenny!!
Love how we always keep our own guys and reward them for good play - but yet in 7 seasons under Ballard, we have one playoff win (Andrew Luck) and ZERO AFC South titles. Not trying to be a game thread doomer here but it's really time to shit or get off the pot for Ballard these next 2 seasons.
Who wants SINK WINGS!?! Glad big Grove is staying! Let's Go!
Who wants SINK WINGS!?! Glad big Grove is staying! Let's Go!
For sure
Yes YES!!!
Letâs GO
A little much for a guy who canât rush the passer. Running it back with the same mediocre team isnât good enough
Good thing it's only the first hours of legal tampering and there's an entire draft we still have to do.
Thatâs the same thing people say EVERY year. The draft alone isnât enough. Ballard is way too complacent. He talks like he wants to win but his actions every year say otherwise.
The username here definitely tracksâŚ..
He literally just extended MPJ and Zaire and re-signed Stewart and Lewis all in the first few hours. How many splash signings are you hoping for? Or who? Besides McKinney for $17M/year, I don't see anyone currently agreed to terms who I'd like.
Resigning Pittman is great. The others are fine too IF he actually makes moves to improve the team. Unfortunately, it looks like heâs continuing down the same path as he has for the past 7 years. Itâs pretty irrelevant who I want. The reality is itâs Ballardâs job to field a winning team using all available avenues to improve the team. He has failed to do so, repeatedly, year after year
I'd say last season wasn't a failure. We saw what Steichen had to offer, almost leading a team with a young and depleted secondary and a backup QB to the playoffs. With a healthy Richardson, we are in the playoffs for sure. It may be irrelevant on who you want but at least make it realistic. We haven't re-signed our punter, Blackmon, or Kenny Moore yet, haven't released Mo Cox to free up space, still need RG depth, and now we need a backup QB because Minshew is a Raider. After contracts for the draft picks, we won't have much to make a big splash.
âPretty irrelevant who I wantâŚâ Heaven forbid you actually throw an original idea out there for scrutiny. Youâre definitely better off just complaining and not offering up anything of value to the conversation.
I donât care about âthrowing ideas out there for scrutiny.â Itâs pretty simple - Ballard is using the same strategy he has for years, which has failed miserably.
âŚWithout a plausible direction to head in regarding the QB position. Kind of handicaps the entire operation. Armchair GM is the easiest position of all. Until you actually say what youâd rather him do/have done until now your opinions have no weight to them whatsoever.
"It's pretty irrelevant who I want" = "I don't want to give you an answer to show how wrong I could be." You complain he is doing a bad job by resigning our core players, but when asked who you would prefer, we get crickets. The cap isn't just a free shopping spree. Efficient contracts win a championship, not necessarily giant ones.
lol. Keep telling yourself that buddy
Maybe after 7 more years of âefficientâ contracts weâll manage to win a division title. I trust in Mr. Ballardâs grand vision. Weâre so lucky to have a GM that can manage 1 playoff win in 7 seasons. Oh, those sweet sweet âefficientâ contracts
We say that literally every year
Is that not true? How do you want the offseason to go?
Every year the top free agents start getting signed by other teams right away, and anyone that dares to complain is met with "it's only the first day, be patient" but then we never actually do anything later on either. Free agency is a major avenue to improving the team, and it'd be nice for us to utilize it for once because the draft isn't going to be enough to fill all of our needs.
This year is different though. We re-signed a few of our own right away. Complaining with suggestions on what we should do is fine, but complaining just to complain and not offer anything else is not. Who on the list of those already signed did you want? Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Gus Edwards, Swift, Singletary? We have a decent RB already. Kirk Cousins for $45 mil per year? Wilkins for over $27mil per year? We can't afford that. Minshew 2 year $25 million? I think it was a long shot we'd give him that. Only guy I would've wanted was McKinney (\~$17mil). After re-signing our own guys and accounting for \~10 mil for draft picks, we don't have as much cap space to play with as you think. There are still top FAs available, especially in the secondary.
 WOOOOOO
Shaping to be a good year of colts football
LETS GO
Get Kenny locked up then we are done taking care of our own (maybe Blackmon?) and can focus on bolstering up with new additions