Should the Colts bring back Erik Walden?
 

At present, the OLB depth chart looks like:

Jabaal Sheard
John Simon
Terrell Basham
Bark Mingo
Akeem Ayers
Some scrubs lower on down the list.

That top five does not look bad...but Mingo has never played up to his potential and Ayers has been injured.

Does bringing back Walden on a lowish type salary with big incentives make sense? The Colts have about $17m they can still spend on 2017 free agents.

Thoughts?

Cheers,

I don't want him taking any of the PT of the listed players.

If he is signed, that doesn't mean he has to take playing time from anyone. Put incentives in the contract and let competition decide who gets to play. That is the Ballard way.

That said, I don't care one way or the other.

i think its telling he hasn't been signed yet.

I like Walden well enough but I think the temptation would be high to put him in too much.

Fuck yes I'd bring him back, he'd be great in a veteran pissed off humble 3rd down pass rusher type role

Dude was all motor every down just imagine him on 3rd down only

all those guys look like scrubs to me

walden is probably better than every single one of them. but i voted no because he isn't coming back.

Piss poor analysis on your part.

no it isn't

those dudes are all backups. no reason to say they are better than walden.

No one saying they are better but several are at least his equal and with full time positions may actually turn out to be better. I actually would not mind him brought back on an incentive laden deal and utilized mostly as a pass rush specialist. Unfortunately for him he is older and not as not as quick/fast as the group they are going to training camp with.

Age and lack of speed has been a real problem for the Colts defense over the last several years. When you combine those with the actual lack of talent Grigson was bringing in you wind up with the Colts defense....a bad one!

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

To me, Sheard is clearly a stopgap solution, but a better one than Walden due to age and athleticism. He's also started 59 of the 89 games in which he's played in his career, so it's not like he's a Ricky Jean-Francois career backup type.

As for Simon, yes, there was a clear reason he was a backup, two in fact. Their names were Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus, both former first round picks, one a former #1 overall pick. He did start 12 games over the last two years, though, so again, not like he's a career backup.

i don't care that we are moving on from walden. he is on the wrong side of 30 and i have no issue with trying simon and sheard as starters on this defense.

just saying it is not a certainty that they are better or will be better.

I'm sure you, myself and all other Colts fans are hoping for they will be better. I'm tired of watching the Colts swiss cheese version of a defense for the last few years.

Titans have signed Walden. They seem to have a thing for signing former Colts players.

If they can't beat you, join them?

He's gonna have a big game against us this year, wait and see.