INDIANAPOLIS – If you like the looks of the Indianapolis Colts as they converged on the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center Monday for the opening of their offseason workout program, get used to it.
A significant portion of the team will be around for a while.
On the heels of defensive tackle DeForest Buckner signing a two-year, $46 million extension, roughly 20 players are under contract through 2026. That’s rather significant in today’s nomadic NFL and offers clear evidence of how general manager Chris Ballard and his personnel staff have identified their core Colts.
11 of the players are members of the 2023 draft class, so their four-year rookie deals take them through ’26. That obviously includes Anthony Richardson, whose rookie contract includes a fifth-year option (’27) and has the potential to join the skyrocketing quarterback market if he’s everything the franchise needs him to be.
Ballard has been resolute in rewarding his own, even when a player isn’t one of his own.
He acquired Buckner in 2020 trade with San Francisco, and the cost was enormous. Ballard sent the 49ers the 13th overall pick in the draft and signed him to a four-year, $84 million extension.
“I thought it was very easy,’’ Ballard said at the time. “He’s got everything we stand for – high character, he’s a producer. I know the 13th pick is a high price, but we haven’t made a lot of big moves like this and a chance to acquire a player of this caliber with his character . . . I thought it was a no-brainer. Premium players cost a premium price.’’
That undoubtedly factored into Buckner’s latest extension.
He just turned 30 and there’s been no decline in his disruptive performance. Buckner has missed just one game in four seasons – a COVID issue in 2020 – and generated at least 7 sacks, 18 quarterback hits and 10 tackles for loss each year. He was first-team All-Pro in 2020 and has been selected to two Pro Bowls.
“DeForest has been the epitome of what it means to be a Colt the last four years,’’ Ballard said in a team release. “DeForest is one of the pillars of our locker room.’’
Buckner is the latest pillar piece to be addressed.
Since mid-March, Ballard and his staff have re-signed or extended 14 players and it’s come at a cost: Approximately $239 million in maximum value with at least $130 million in guarantees.
To this point, Ballard’s approach – investing heavily in his own players while being selective and relatively frugal on the open market – hasn’t produced the desired results. Since Andrew Luck’s sudden retirement in August 2019, the Colts are 40-42-1, have reached the playoffs only once and have zero postseason wins.
That’s why Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 draft, must be the Colts’ quarterback of the future. The revolving door at the position – Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan – has gotten the franchise nowhere and riled up the fan base.
The new contracts this offseason, coupled with previous deals, tie 10 veterans to Indy at least through 2026: Buckner, guard Quenton Nelson, running back Jonathon Taylor, wideout Michael Pittman Jr., linebacker Zaire Franklin, cornerback Kenny Moore II, defensive tackle Grover Stewart, kicker Matt Gay, punter Rigoberto Sanchez and long-snapper Luke Rhodes.
The contracts of three-time Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly and linebacker E.J. Speed expire at the end of this season. Right tackle Braden Smith’s four-year, $70 million extension keeps him in Indy through ’25.
Below is a recap of the Colts’ more significant personnel moves this offseason:
Extensions
*Buckner: two years, $46 million.
*Franklin: three years, $31.25 million, $17.62 million guaranteed.
New deals
*Pittman: three years, $70 million contract, $46 million guaranteed.
*Moore: three years, $30 million, $18.89 million guaranteed.
*Stewart: three years, $39 million, $25.7 million guaranteed.
*Sanchez: three years, $7.75 million, $2.5 million guaranteed.
*Tyquan Lewis: two years, $12 million, $7.7 million guaranteed.
*Joe Flacco: one year, $4.5 million guaranteed.
*Raekwon Davis: two years, $14 million, $7 million guaranteed.
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.