Several are at least his equal? Prove it.

Actually I'm going to double down and state that several are actually better than Walden at this stage. At the end of the season if his production was not equaled or bettered I'll admit it. It does the Colts no good if they are his equal because basically the Colts defense sucked last year and he was one of the alleged bright spots. A player who in his 9th year got 33% of his career sack total.

It's not necessary to prove anything because at this point Waldens position has become significantly younger, faster and more athletic.

you are projecting they are better. stating they are right now is just a guess

Projecting for the upcoming season is the whole point of this discussion. The question is whether any one of those guys could have a better 2017 season than Walden if he was brought back.
I'm leaning too that the answer is yes, one of those guys will be better than Walden.

Next year should not be the only consideration. The 5 OLBs listed are in their age 28 season or under, whereas Walden is in his age 32 season. Deterioration should be a concern for Walden, one that will only worsen moving forward. The Colts needed to get much younger and more athletic at the position, and they accomplished that this offseason. Even if you think Erik Walden would provide better production than Tarell Basham next year, Basham should still get the playing time so the Colts can find out what they have in him.

Technically you are correct about it being a guess. However when you take into account that last season really was an outlier for Walden's career and then look at the tangibles possessed within the new youth movement at his position it's almost an educated guess. Right now I think Sheard and Simon could prove to be better than Walden and they have bodies of work so far that help substantiate that. Ayers may never duplicate what he was early on with the Titans but he should still be better depth than Walden would be. Basham is an unknown quantity but not much I've read says anyone dislikes that pick to help fill the need of a pass rush specialist. Would love to see Mingo all of a sudden be the guy he was supposed to be but that seems to be a stretch at this point.

There is a reason Walden is still out of work. The rest of the NFL sees it, he's just not that good.

I thought that last season was his worst as a Colt. Forget the sacks, at least half were gimmes. Prior to last season, I was one of the few people who didn't complain about Walden's contract, and I actually thought his play was up to the contract.

Freeney was out of work the last two years but he could still play. I do t think you have a point there

Not sure what you mean. He played 16 games for SD in 2014 (after being on IR with them in 2013), 11 games for Arizona in 2015, and 15 games for Atlanta last year. I thought he was largely ineffective with Atlanta last year, only 3 sacks and 10 total tackles.
I watched him specifically in the Superbowl and while it looked like he was playing his heart out, he never really even bothered Brady in the 2nd half.

The only good year he's had since leaving Indy was in Arizona, 8 sacks in 11 games with 3 FF was his best season since 2011.

he was on the street to start the year when arizona picked him up.

and in the super bowl he was all over brady for the first half. they countered him like belichick does.

point is. just because he isn't on a team doesn't mean he can't play. and just because the colts signed two backups to be starters, doesn't make them starting caliber players.

sheard and simon were backups for a reason. you guys might want to accept that they might not be magically great here