Before the new league year even began, the Philadelphia Eagles and veteran pass rusher Brandon Graham agreed on a three-year contract extension, the team announced Friday.
Graham was a potential target for the Colts despite his age, but the 30-year-old will now be off the market. The Colts will now hope the group of pending free agent pass rushers doesn’t get too thin by the time they can negotiate.
The Colts are certainly in need of some pass rush help even though they saw an increase in production. The consistency simply wasn’t there each week and adding a pass rusher that can be versatile and productive will go a long way in a young defense.
It will be interesting to see how Graham’s deal impacts the market for the rest of the pass rushers set to hit free agency. He is reportedly getting a deal that is between $12 and $14 million per year, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
That should have been out of the range for the Colts regardless of how much salary cap space they have entering the new league year.
With Graham on the market, the Colts will continue to look at outside options before free agency officially opens on March 13.
