Friday, March 5, 2010

Good morning free agency

With Gary Brackett back in the fold and some key free agents – S Antoine Bethea, S Melvin Bullitt, T Charlie Johnson and DTs Dan Muir and Antonio “Mookie” Johnson – tendered, the offseason is beginning to shape up. Here’s a look at the remaining free agents:

WR Hank Baskett: His term in Indy was clearly over anyway

T Dan Federkeil: A Polian and Mudd pet project, but a spare part at best

S Aaron Francisco: His first year in Indy was a disaster, it’ll also be his last

OLB Tyjuan Hagler: Good-enough player on those rare occasions he’s healthy

CB Marlin Jackson: Former first-round pick started season as third corner, got hurt; Colts proved they could win just as easily without him

CB Tim Jennings: Not nearly as bad as the media and fans make him out to be, Jennings was, however, made redundant by the emergence of Jacob Lacey

ILB Freddy Keiaho: No longer seen as a viable starting option

CB T.J. Rushing: Added little on defense, appears to have lost his job as a returner

T Michael Toudouze: Career backup

Of course, that doesn’t mean none of them will be back. Neither Keiaho nor Hagler were tendered last year, and they returned. And Toudouze has been cut so many times, this non-tender probably doesn’t mean much to him.

In other news, the Colts released Jim Sorgi. I find this a tad surprising because Curtis Painter did little to make me think he has a future. Maybe they love Drew Willy.

And Raheem Brock Tweeted that he won’t be a Colts next season. That doesn’t surprise me at all. Not only did he have a poor season against both run and pass, he was scheduled to make $5.9 million in 2010.

So let’s look at the Colts depth chart, subtracting the non-tendered players, Sorgi, Brock and retired Matt Stover:

Quarterbacks
18 Manning, Peyton
7 Painter, Curtis
16 Willy, Drew

Runningbacks
29 Addai, Joseph
31 Brown, Donald
32 Hart, Mike
35 Simpson, Chad
00 Moore, Devin

Wide Receivers
87 Wayne, Reggie
11 Gonzalez, Anthony
85 Garcon, Pierre
17 Collie, Austin
10 Smith, Taj
14 Giguere, Sam
83 Matthews, John
00 Guice Jr., Dudley

Tight Ends
44 Clark, Dallas
47 Robinson, Gijon
86 Santi, Tom
84 Tamme, Jacob
46 Cloherty, Colin
80 Petrowski, Jamie

Tackles
71 Diem, Ryan
74 Johnson, Charlie
67 Ugoh, Tony
00 Cadogan, Gerald

Guards
65 Lilja, Ryan
66 DeVan, Kyle
78 Pollak, Mike
73 Thomas, Jaimie

Centers
63 Saturday, Jeff
61 Richard, Jamey

Defensive Ends
93 Freeney, Dwight
98 Mathis, Robert
96 Dawson, Keyunta
94 Baldwin, Ervin
97 Hardie, Rudolph
00 Chick, John

Defensive Tackles
90 Muir, Daniel
68 Foster, Eric
99 Johnson, Antonio
95 Moala, Fili
69 Gill, John
00 King, Mitch

Outside Linebackers
55 Session, Clint
50 Wheeler, Philip
52 Glenn, Cody
57 Renkart, Brandon

Inside Linebackers
58 Brackett, Gary
59 Humber, Ramon

Cornerbacks
26 Hayden, Kelvin
25 Powers, Jerraud
27 Lacey, Jacob
34 Lambert, Terrail

Safeties
21 Sanders, Bob
41 Bethea, Antoine
33 Bullitt, Melvin
40 Silva, Jamie

Kickers
4 Vinatieri, Adam

Punter
1 McAfee, Pat

Long Snapper
48 Snow, Justin

It looks as though defensive back has moved up the Colts list of draft needs, while defensive tackle has moved down. The Colts still need a long-term answer at left tackle, pass-rushing end to develop, a dedicated return man and to replenish the linebacking crew. I also wouldn’t mind another tight end.

2 comments:

Roy said...

Any chance the Colts bring back Sorgi at a reduced rate? Or as an assistant coach?

Jerry Langton said...

At this point, I think Sorgi is still going to try to play, and it may not be in indy. He is just 29, after all.

He has spoken with the Giants about backing up li'l Eli. If all falls through, he could come back to Indy, but I think he'll get a contract elsewhere.

A coaching future? Could be, he's a smart guy with a great grasp of offensive basics. I always think naturals like Peyton make poor coaches, but guys who worked for everything they got like Sorgi make better ones.