As has been the trend for the last three offseasons, the Indianapolis Colts aren’t strapped for cash in any way, shape or form as free agency approaches in just over one month.
Since Chris Ballard took over as general manager, the Colts have been among the leaders in salary-cap space. Frugal and calculated spending in free agency has given the Colts plenty of salary-cap space to work with even if Ballard isn’t one to splurge on a veteran.
Though this number will change if and when they re-sign some of their own before the market opens, the Colts are currently sitting on $86,162,964 in salary-cap space—based on a $200 million salary cap, per Over The Cap.
That’s the second-highest figure in the NFL just behind the Miami Dolphins, who are sitting with $89.3 million in salary-cap space.
By now, we know how Ballard operates. As much fun as it would be to peg the Colts as spenders in the open market, it’s simply unlikely to happen. Ballard might be open to bringing in one top-tier free agent but even that is a long shot given his track record of waiting.
There are some intriguing options that would be strong fits for the Colts. Their prices are likely to be too high for Ballard’s liking, though.
Players like Chris Jones, Amari Cooper and Yannick Ngakoue would all be intriguing for the Colts. However, Ballard’s process most likely doesn’t include adding those caliber players on big contracts.
Does Ballard pick his spots more than he needs to? Possibly. But he won’t be deviating from his process, regardless of how much salary-cap space the Colts will have.
