The Indianapolis Colts are just days away from the beginning of free agency in the NFL where they will enter the market with the most salary cap space by a wide margin.
With a need to add talent to the pass rush this offseason, the top name on the market is likely going to be New England Patriots defensive end Trey Flowers. If need be, the Colts could give Flowers the massive contract he’s en route to get, but that doesn’t mean they should.
As general manager Chris Ballard continues his work in his third free agency with the Colts, we know they have a certain threshold on the value placed on each player. Whatever that figure is, he rarely goes over it to bring in a free agent.
No one except those in the room know what the team’s value of Flowers is but with speculation that the 25-year-old pass rusher could get $17 million per year, it remains to be seen if Ballard and company would actually pay that price.
Flowers is going to be the hottest commodity in the market in terms of pass rushers, and there is a team that could pay him that $17 million annually, but it shouldn’t be the Colts.
Flowers is a fantastic fit for the one-gap defense. He wins with strength, length and a hot motor. He’s been consistent but unspectacular during his time with the Patriots. He may be a great fit for the Colts, but he isn’t worth $17 million per year.
Do the Colts have the money to overpay him a bit? Absolutely. However, it would be much more sensible for Ballard to grab a pass rusher like Preston Smith, who will be cheaper, than it would be to splurge for Flowers.
Paying a defensive end in the $17 million range means he must bring elite production to the field. He must be in the same category as Demarcus Lawrence and J.J. Watt. Flowers hasn’t yet shown he can be that type of player.
At $17 million per year, Flowers would be the third-highest paid defensive end in average annual salary. That’s more than Watt, Chandler Jones and Calais Campbell.
Just because they have money to spend, doesn’t mean they should be careless with it.
The Colts have the money to make some big splashes in free agency but if the bidding for Flowers gets too high, they should bow out and focus on bringing in players that can provide the same production while coming at a lesser cost.
