Over the last few days, the Indianapolis Colts have been linked as a potential suitor in the Matthew Stafford sweepstakes given their current roster and need at the quarterback position.
While we already knew the Colts are among the top suitors to land Stafford, David Carr of NFL Network listed Indy as the top landing spot. He also suggested the Colts should give up two first-round picks in order to acquire the soon-to-be 33-year-old.
What the Colts should give up: Two first-round picks.
This landing spot makes the most sense across the board, with the Colts having plenty of cap space ($64.9 million, per Over the Cap), draft capital and an opening at the quarterback position. Philip Rivers gave the team everything he had in his swan song and played well, considering the guy could barely move. With Rivers retiring and Jacoby Brissett slated to become a free agent, general manager Chris Ballard has a big decision to make, given that the Colts are in position to make a run at a Super Bowl with a talented, well-rounded roster. Stafford would be an upgrade in all areas of the position and fit well into Indy’s offense as a QB who excels out of shotgun, who has the arm strength to rip it all over the field and whose mobility allows him to make off-schedule plays. Not to mention, the Colts’ offensive line is one of the very best in the league (a luxury Stafford hasn’t had in Detroit), the rushing attack is on the come-up, the defense is young, fast and effective, and the Colts have a solid group of skill-position players. (Ballard will have to decide whether to re-sign T.Y. Hilton or let him hit the market in the coming months, as well.)
We discussed what the Colts should give up for Stafford in a trade—even calling on some outside opinions both from Indy’s and the Lions’ side.
Giving up two first-round picks might be where Chris Ballard draws his line. The Colts will undoubtedly have to part ways with the No. 21 overall pick this year if a player is not involved. The hope is the Colts could also give up a Day 2 pick in 2021 or 2022, avoiding the dread of not having a first-round for the next two years.
If that were the case, the Colts wouldn’t have a first-round pick for four consecutive seasons (2019–2022)—assuming that other first-round pick in the trade would be in 2022.
We are in the waiting game right now when it comes to the Stafford trade talks and if the Colts do land the big fish, it will be interesting to see what the deal looks like.
