In response to Professional Soccer Focus, the Indianapolis Colts have the league’s thirteenth finest wage cap scenario over the following three years (2023-2025)—when contemplating various key components: prime 51 veteran valuation, rookie contract gamers, projected efficient cap house, complete prorated cash, and 2023 free agent projections:

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — RANK: 13

The Colts are a captivating scenario to observe in 2023 due to their big selection of outcomes, with lots of excellent gamers both lacking intensive time to damage or just not performing on the prime of their talents in 2022. Indianapolis tumbling all the way down to thirtieth in our prime 51 veteran valuation will not be because of the lack of a bunch of marquee free brokers, so in principle they might skyrocket again up the listing.

After the Colts ranked useless final in anticipated factors added per dropback in 2022, new head coach Shane Steichen and presumed franchise quarterback Anthony Richardson can solely go up from right here.

Underneath common supervisor Chris Ballard, the Colts have particularly prevented extensions for ‘good however not particular’ starters and re-signed their prime stars—together with mega-extensions for each offensive guard Quenton Nelson and linebacker Shaquille Leonard. They’ve been quite fiscally prudent in free company, shying away from long-term contracts all collectively.

That being mentioned, the Colts not too long ago did make ex-Rams Professional Bowler Matt Homosexual the best paid kicker in NFL historical past and in addition signed stable starter Samson Ebukam at defensive finish to not an unsubstantial quantity of wage cap house.

One of many largest wage cap questions dealing with the Colts is how the franchise plans on dealing with the looming contract expiration for star working again Jonathan Taylor, who’s set to hit free company following the 2023 season.

The league has devalued the working again place, and a lot of the NFL’s prime working backs haven’t lived as much as the backend years of their second extensions in latest reminiscence. Taylor is coming off a disappointing 2022 season due to an ankle damage, however is only a 12 months faraway from a monstrous speeding marketing campaign with the Colts and is just 24 years previous.

Taylor has lots of mileage from his collegiate days at Wisconsin, but in addition retains his physique in tip-top form, consuming properly, and even doing yoga for added flexibility—and his lingering ankle damage truly restricted among the wear-and-tear from this previous season as he had solely 192 complete carries (in comparison with a whopping 332 carries with the Colts a 12 months prior respectively, probably permitting him to reset bodily following such a heavy workload).

Within the short-term, the Colts may elect to franchise tag Taylor on a year-to-year foundation, stopping the franchise from regretting the previous few years of a profitable long-term deal. Nonetheless, the Colts’ finest wager could also be to frontload a multi-year contract extension totally, as Taylor figures to have not less than a handful of elite speeding seasons nonetheless left.

In any other case, huge receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who’s additionally a member of the Colts’ 2020 draft class can also be up for a contract extension. So long as it’s in keeping with his market worth, that figures to be a no brainer for the Colts—as Pittman Jr. has been rock stable and may present a extremely dependable weapon for rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson going ahead.

Lastly, underrated defensive sort out Grover Stewart is ready to turn out to be a free agent following the 2023 marketing campaign, and that’s unquestionably an extension the Colts will need to get achieved—as he’s shortly turn out to be one of many protection’s finest gamers, run stuffers, and a group chief.

The hope is that dealing with a short-term rebuild, the Colts can shortly get again into competition and benefit from Richardson’s rookie contract—assuming he’s the actual deal at QB.

The Colts have achieved a commendable job of sustaining fairly good, however not essentially nice wage cap wellness for the foreseeable future—as this rating signifies, comparatively talking.