2020 will be one of the biggest offseasons in recent Indianapolis Colts’ history. After finishing the season losing five of the final six games, the Colts finished 7-9 and have a lot of questions about their roster going into the offseason.
Indianapolis has a few free agents going into the offseason and with a projected $93 million in cap space, there is no strap for cash to keep the guys they want to.
The Colts have 14 unrestricted free agents. These players will be able to sign with anyone in March when the new league year starts. Or the Colts can sign them to an extension beforehand. But not all of the pending free agents should be re-signed.
Let’s look at some unrestricted free agents that the Colts should let go:
K Adam Vinatieri
Last offseason, the Colts brought back Vinatieri on a one-year deal. As the oldest player in the league at age 46 going into the 2019 season, there were questions if Vinatieri could still kick at a high level.
After suffering a knee injury that had him miss most of the training camp and the preseason, Vinatieri struggled out of the gate missing two field goals and two extra points in the first two games of the season. The Colts tried out some kickers but stuck with Vinatieri.
Vinatieri was put on injured reserve after going 1 of 4 versus the Tennessee Titans, one of which was blocked, and the Colts turned to rookie Chase McLaughlin.
McLaughlin finished the final five games 5 of 6 on field goals and a perfect 11 of 11 on extra points. Indianapolis re-signed McLaughlin to a one-year extension on December 30.
TE Eric Ebron
The writing was on the wall after the Colts put Ebron on injured reserve after Week 12 that they weren’t going to re-sign him.
Ebron had a resurgent season in 2018 with 13 touchdowns and 66 receptions, both career-highs for him.
2019 was a different story. Inconsistency and no involvement in the offense, Ebron decided to have ankle surgery on both ankles after the Colts were defeated by the Houston Texans in week 12.
In his end-of-season presser, Chris Ballard said they won’t bring Ebron back in 2020, and that’s all the confirmation you’ll need.
WR Chester Rogers
Rogers was one of those guys back in the 2019 training camp that was on the cusp of being cut when the roster was trimmed down to 53 players.
His role on special teams as a punt returner helped him stay employed. He was one of the better returners in the NFL in terms of yardage. But, Rogers suffered a knee injury in Week 13 versus the Titans and was placed on injured reserve.
Then Nyheim Hines happened. Hines was drafted to be a returner and he finally got his chance once Rogers went down, and Hines took full advantage. Week 16 Hines returned two punts for touchdowns and all but sealed the punt returner job in 2020.
With Rogers having not much value on the roster now, don’t expect the Colts to re-sign him.
S Clayton Geathers
The Colts re-signed Geathers to a one-year deal last offseason, but it wasn’t a slam dunk he would be the long-term answer at safety for them.
Throughout his career, Geathers has dealt with various injuries and has been inconsistent when he’s been on the field, which held true in 2019.
Indianapolis selected safety Khari Willis in the fourth round of the 2019 draft and became a regular starter in Week 4 over Geathers.
Chris Ballard sings high praises for Geathers, but the lack of consistency and availability have left a lot to be desired from Geathers. Don’t expect the Colts to re-sign the last Colt from the Ryan Grigson era.
