Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton will be hitting the free-agent market for the first time in his career and while he would love to remain with the team, he also is looking forward to seeing what other teams have to offer.
In an interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio, Hilton expressed his interest to return to the Colts but also reiterated that he would be excited to test the market for the first time in his career.
“They know how I feel. Mr. Irsay, Chris Ballard and Frank [Reich], they all say they want me back,” Hilton said. “I said it all throughout the season, I would love to come back and hopefully it works out.”
Both sides have constantly talked about re-signing and ending his career with the only team he’s ever played for, but both sides have also reiterated that the money needs to be right for each party.
That’s where the Colts and Hilton’s party may differ and if that’s the case, the 31-year-old wideout is excited to test the market and see what kind of offers he can get.
“If it doesn’t, I look forward to a new chapter, a new environment and I look forward to free agency,” Hilton said. “You know I’ve never been here so I’m excited about that and looking forward to the teams that are interested in me. So all I can do now is just sit back and wait.”
Hilton had a down year statistically when most thought he would see a resurgence with Philip Rivers under center. That said, defenses were constantly rolling coverage his way and showed they still fear him as a playmaker.
And Hilton was all about the team event though he wasn’t getting targeted at the rate he was used to. He didn’t complain publicly about a lack of targets and continued to help the team and do what they asked of him. That’s rare for players with a brand name like Hilton’s.
The Colts have until March 15 to re-sign Hilton before teams are allowed to contact him while nothing is official until March 17, which is the start of the new league year.
Seeing Hilton retire with the Colts would be fantastic, but the NFL is a business so this is still a situation to monitor over the next two weeks.
