The Indianapolis Colts 2023 Off-Season

The Colts are coming off a rather unsuccessful session in which they finished with a 4-12-1 record, failing to make it to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons and leading to the team firing then-Head Coach Frank Reich during the season. The Colts are now entering a very pivotal offseason and will be looking for a new starting quarterback for the fourth season in a row. The Colts, under GM Chris Ballard and new HC Shane Steichen, will have to address the quarterback position and the other big question marks on the roster during the offseason. Reports are that the Indianapolis Colts plan to take a rookie quarterback in the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft.

The Colts have a lot of needs on their roster from quarterback to cornerback and further. There is plenty to delve into, and we plan on doing just that. From looking at the Colts’ overall team needs, profiling Colts’ free agents-to-be and discussing whether or not they should be resigned, to looking at potential free agent additions from outside the team and also looking into potential draft fits. The Colts now head into arguably the most important part of the offseason, in terms of roster turnover, which began with the 2023 Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama earlier in the month.

Colts’ Free Agents

The Colts have fifteen unrestricted free agents heading into the 2021 season:

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

Colts’ Cap Space

According to Over The Cap, the Colts will have $12,230,976 in cap space (based on a $224,800,00 projected salary cap). However, the team can increase this with a few roster moves such as cutting quarterback Matt Ryan which would free up a further $17,205,882 in cap space. With that amount of cap space, the Colts will have plenty for General Manager Chris Ballard and Co. to work with.

Colts’ Draft Picks

Barring any further trades/moves, the Colts will have eight draft selections one in each of the first four rounds, two fifth-round picks, none in the sixth but two in the seventh round:

• Round 1, Pick 4 overall
• Round 2, Pick 35 overall
• Round 3, Pick 79 overall (from Washington)
• Round 4, Pick 106 overall
• Round 5, Pick 140 overall
• Round 5, Pick 164 overall
• Round 7, Pick 223 overall
• Round 7, Pick 238 overall (from Tampa Bay)

Important Dates

Looking forward to the upcoming important dates for the Colts this offseason. The next big date on the offseason calendar will be the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. Here are some important key dates to keep an eye out for during the offseason:

February 21st – March 7th, Franchise and Transition Tags – The Colts and the rest of the league will be able to apply franchise and transition tags to pending free agents. February 21st is the first day for teams to designate franchise or transition players to use the tag on. This is a two-week period that ends on March 7th.

February 28th – March 6th, NFL Scouting Combine – The Colts and the rest of the league will be in Indianapolis to see the newest wave of rookies go through combine testing and medical evaluation prior to the NFL Draft.

March 13th – 15th, NFL Negotiation “Legal Tampering” Period – The Colts and the rest of the league are allowed to enter into contract negotiations with the agents of unrestricted free agents from other teams during this three-day period.

March 15th, New League Year & NFL Free Agency – The new NFL league year begins and along so does the free agency period in which teams can sign unrestricted free agents from opposing teams.

April 27th – April 29th, NFL Draft – The Colts and the rest of the league will descend on Kansas City, Missouri, and will select draft prospects to join their team starting in round 1 on opening night April 27th, and ending with round 7 on closing night April 29th.