The Indianapolis Colts are expected to take a different approach to free agency this offseason.
A normal spring for Colts GM Chris Ballard includes a few low-cost outside signings with one or two slightly more expensive additions included. Last year, however, was all about “running it back,” as the Colts focused almost exclusively on re-signing their own players and adding just two outsiders — both backups — to the roster.
That approach admittedly blew up in Ballard’s face, with the Colts finishing a game below .500 and without a playoff appearance for the fourth consecutive season. Ballard said in his end-of-season press conference that he counted too much on the same roster fixing the previous season’s mistakes and that he didn’t do a good enough job adding competition.
With the obvious takeaway that Ballard intends to be more aggressive this offseason — however that looks to him — the Colts do still have a couple of in-house free agents worth bringing back.
Pete Prisco of CBS Sports identified four Colts players who should be included among the best free agents in the NFL as he recently unveiled his list of the “Top 100 NFL Free Agents for 2025.”
15. OG Will Fries: “Will Fries suffered a season-ending injury early in 2024, but this self-made player was playing at a high level before he did. He is one of those guards who gets by more with his fight than his athletic ability. He is a battler. He is 27.”
The Colts almost always reward their own mid-late-round success stories regardless if they are a difference make or not, but Fries has legitimately ascended himself into being an above-average NFL guard. He’s Prisco’s second-ranked available guard and third interior offensive lineman overall for a reason. A team source said that before Fries’ midseason leg injury, he was arguably performing as the Colts’ best offensive lineman and was hopeful that the team would be able to re-sign Fries this offseason. The Colts should almost consider themselves lucky that Fries’ tibia injury perhaps dropped his price tag a little bit.
40. C Ryan Kelly: “This 2016 first-round pick hits the market with 121 career starts, but he was limited to 10 last season due to injuries. When he was out, rookie Tanor Bortolini played well in his place, so Kelly is likely gone. He turns 32 in May.”
Kelly has been one of the Colts’ most accomplished offensive linemen throughout his nine-year career, earning four Pro Bowls and a Second-Team All-Pro nod, but his age and injury history (only three complete seasons) are too much to overlook. Add in the fact that Tanor Bortolini is waiting in the wings and it just doesn’t make much sense to re-sign Kelly.
78. LB E.J. Speed: “E.J. Speed has started 26 games the past two seasons and has been a tackling machine with 244 tackles. He is an athletic linebacker who made his name as a special teams player before taking over as the starter late in 2022. He turns 30 in June.”
Speed’s situation is a tough case study. He’s a homegrown, Day 3 draft pick success story for the Colts, who developed into a startable linebacker. He’s big, athletic, and has a knack for making plays behind the line of scrimmage. However, continuing to pair him with Zaire Franklin, who signed a multi-year extension last year, would likely be a mistake. Both players found their niche as run defenders in the box who swarm to the ball. While Franklin is better in pass coverage, neither can call it a strong suit. They both also miss an exceptional amount of tackles. Simply put, these are two linebackers who do not complement each other well.
93. DE Dayo Odeyingbo: “After a slow start to his career, Dayo Odeyingbo has come on the past two seasons as an edge player. He has 11 sacks total the past two seasons, including three last season. But his pressure numbers were up last season. He turns 26 in September.
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Going off of Odeyingbo’s 2023 campaign where he had career highs in sacks (8.0) and tackles for loss (9), expectations were high for 2024. However, despite playing 123 more snaps, Odeyingbo only had 3.0 sacks and 7 tackles for loss in 2024. Still, he’s a versatile, explosive player who new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo could have big plans for.
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