The Indianapolis Colts have turned their attention to the 2023 NFL draft after making some waves since the opening of free agency last month.
While the Colts are still likely to add a handful of pieces to the roster before the draft—specifically at cornerback and offensive line—the majority of their moves have been made in free agency.
If and when those moves are made before the draft, we’ll add them to this list of grades.
Even with the noise quieting down, we’re still tracking the moves the Colts are making in free agency and will do so through the month of April.
Here’s a look at our grades for the Colts’ moves in free agency, which also includes the notable moves of a trade and the release of a pair of starters:
Re-signed DE Tyquan Lewis
The Colts re-signed Lewis to a one-year deal, essentially giving him the same contract he received last offseason. Coincidentally, he’s recovering from the same injury that prematurely ended his season for the second year in a row only to a different knee.
Lewis has been a strong contributor along the defensive line and has shown promise in each of the last two seasons before suffering those season-ending injuries. It’s a solid deal for both sides as it’s little risk for the Colts, but it does provide some upside if Lewis is healthy.
Grade: B
Re-signed LB E.J. Speed
The departure of Bobby Okereke in free agency will give Speed the opportunity to build on what was his best season yet in 2022. If Shaquille Leonard is healthy, Speed won’t hold a massive role on the defensive side of the ball. But the contract is solid enough for both sides, and he still has upside to turn into a better defender with more reps while working as a core special teamer.
Grade: B+
Re-signed OT Carter O'Donnell
O’Donnell has been with the Colts since joining the team in 2020 as an undrafted free agent. He has yet to play in a regular season game and missed the entire 2022 season due to an injury he suffered during the preseason. His projected impact is little, but he’s a player the Colts seemingly want to continue developing.
Grade: C
Re-signed CB Tony Brown
Another small move in terms of notability, the re-signing of Brown gives the Colts some back-end depth at the cornerback position. More importantly, Brown was a major player on special teams in 2022 so it’s likely he will continue that role under new coordinator Brian Mason. It may not be flashy, but continuity on special teams is underrated.
Grade: C+
Signed QB Gardner Minshew
This move made too much sense as soon as the Colts hired Shane Steichen as the new head coach. Minshew is one of the top backup quarterbacks in the league, and he has two full seasons of experience in Steichen’s offense. That helps in several ways, including the aid of getting a rookie quarterback up to speed. The contract was very reasonable for both sides as well.
Grade: A
Signed DE Samson Ebukam
One of the more underrated moves the Colts made this offseason was bringing in Ebukam to add some depth to the edge rusher position. He’s likely to be the replacement for Yannick Ngakoue at the LEO spot in Gus Bradley’s defense. He’s still growing as a pass rusher, but his impact against the run far surpasses what Ngakoue gave the Colts in 2022. The Colts also avoided overpaying for a player who still has plenty of upside to help improve the pass rush.
Grade: B+
Re-signed WR Ashton Dulin
Bringing Dulin back was a solid deal for the Colts. He should provide some depth as a WR4 type in the room while his bigger impact comes on the special teams side of the ball. Though it isn’t flashy, Dulin is the type of player the Colts need in that phase of the game. He also could be a nice depth piece as a vertical threat in empty sets in Shane Steichen’s offense.
Grade: B
Signed DT Taven Bryan
The former first-round pick hasn’t really lived up to the billing of his draft capital, but he showed some progress during the 2022 season. After holding mostly a back-end rotational role in Jacksonville for his first four seasons, Bryan saw an increased role with the Browns. He only gathered 3.5 sacks and will likely hold a depth role at the three-technique behind DeForest Buckner and Dayo Odeyingbo. But he’s a fine depth addition for the back end of the room.
Grade: C
Signed K Matt Gay
There was a whole bunch of noise surrounding this move considering Gay is now one of the highest-paid kickers in NFL history. While that sounds expensive, Gay’s contract makes up for a whopping 2% of the team’s salary cap. If he continues to produce at the elite level of the past two seasons, this move will be one of the biggest steals in free agency.
Grade: B+
Released QB Matt Ryan
One of the most anticipated moves of the offseason was the release of the veteran quarterback. After a disastrous season, the Colts moved on from Ryan’s massive contract in hopes of ushering in a new era at the game’s most important position. The move saved the Colts roughly $17.2 million in salary-cap space and was a clear signal that they’re looking to move in a new direction at the quarterback position. Ryan should be remembered more for his stellar career before this point, but it was the right move to go in a different direction.
Grade: B
Traded CB Stephon Gilmore
This move was a bit of a head-scratcher. The Colts clearly felt they needed the salary-cap space more than paying Gilmore his nearly $10 million contract even if it meant making the cornerback position arguably the biggest need on the roster. The departure of Gilmore leaves a massive hole in the cornerback depth chart and as of this writing, the Colts haven’t made any moves to aid that development. It’s a good year to draft a cornerback, but we could still look back on this move wondering if it was worth it.
Grade: D
Signed WR Isaiah McKenzie
The Colts needed to find a replacement for Parris Campbell, who signed a one-year deal with the Giants. So they turned to McKenzie, who is a strong fit to work as the slot receiver with Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce on the outside. Going into training camp with McKenzie as the clear WR3 would be an issue considering his lack of production throughout his career, but he’s a nice depth piece to the room. The Colts still should bring in a rookie to compete with McKenzie, but it was still a solid move overall considering his speed.
Grade: C+
Signed RB Darrynton Evans
The former third-round pick will likely compete for a roster spot behind Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss. He has an intriguing profile, but he wasn’t signed to hold a massive role in the offense. Maybe he impresses enough during training camp to make the roster, but there’s going to be a massive competition for the final spot in the backfield.
Grade: C
Signed TE Pharaoh Brown
The tight end room was already pretty crowded with the anticipated return of Andrew Ogletree from a torn ACL in training camp. Brown is a blocking tight end so it will be interesting to see if he carves out a role in that aspect considering how poorly the position played in that regard during the 2022 season.
Grade: C
Re-signed DE Khalid Kareem
Kareem is interesting from an athleticism and size perspective, but he’s likely competing for one of the final roster spots on the defensive side of the ball. He has some intriguing traits, but we shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves until he starts making some noise in training camp, which is certainly possible.
Grade: C
