One man’s plan…if I were GM
 

My first move is one that I’m sure will be met with Universal approval. I would sign Daniel Jones to a one year deal. I know that he was ridden out of New York on a rail, but he has skills similar to Richardsons, and if he had to come in for a few plays, a game, or even extended games, there wouldn’t be any need to make adjustments in the game plan. The question is how much does he have left after having to spend his formative years slogging through the shit show that is the New York Giants organization. Indy provides a stable offensive line, a pro bowl running back, and a solid receiving corps. it’s a great place for him to salvage his career.

Bring back Kelly, Fries, and Braden Smith. With Kelly, it’s obviously a short term move, and you hope that Tanor Bortolini is the long-term piece of the puzzle. But, there’s no question that Kelly’s presence elevates the play of everyone around him. Fries is simply a gem that you can’t allow it slip away; and Smith is insurance in case Goncalves doesn’t develop into a book end Right Tackle. At the very least, bringing them all back gives you depth on the line and lets you spend limited draft and free agent capital on other, more pressing, needs. If Goncalves lights up training camp, you could always trade Smith to a team that’s hungry for a Tackle and pick up draft picks in 2026.

Sign LB Zack Baun as a free agent. Whatever value EJ speed brings to the table, coverage isn’t one of them. Baun excels both in coverage and as a blitzer. His presence would stabilize the position and give Anarumo a versatile, veteran piece at a critical position.

Sign DJ Reed to play corner. At best, his ceiling is the kind of shutdown corner we haven’t seen since Vontae Davis packed up his bags and left on the 1:10 to Buffalo. At the least, his floor is that you don’t have to line him up 10 yards off the receiver because he couldn’t cover a man in a wheelchair if you left him alone on an island.

Grab Tyler Warren in the first round. If Anthony Richardson, or anyone else, is going to thrive at quarterback, he needs a big time clutch player who can stake a claim to the middle of the field. Warren might not be as good as Brock Bowers, but he’s in the conversation.

Second round, Xavier Watts. Watts is the kind of do it all, dominate the field Safety that Gus Bradley desperately needed to make his defense work. Bradley is gone, but the need remains.

Later in the draft, simply try to fortify the roster with talent, hoping to hit on quality pieces across-the-board. Play to the strength of the draft, don’t force a pick because of need, and don’t be afraid to trade up or down.

That having been said, at some point either in free agency or the draft, you have to find someone to split carries with Jonathan Taylor. I’m not troubled by the prospect of handing the ball off to a running back 35 times a game, but giving all those carries to one player is a recipe for disaster. Essentially, I’m looking for someone who’s not only capable of toting the rock, but can block and doesn’t have hands of stone.

No way Daniel jones is the guy I’m signing. I’m having a discussion with Justin Fields and if he’s ok with taking ARs job then that’s the guy I’m signing. Whoever they bring in should have absolutely zero respect for AR and absolutely be gunning for his job if that’s not their mentality then I don’t want them.

I don’t think we need an overhaul of free agents on defense, I’d be looking to add someone with some real winning experience to teach these chimps about winning.

I’d still like to see them sign a Chase Young especially if they let Dayo walk

Definitely a TE in the draft if Warren is there at 14 that’s the pick.

As for Oline, gotta figure out what’s going on with Braden Smith but I’d be ok bringing Kelly back to finish his career.

Jevon Holland should be the top free agent priority. Great ballhawking safety that can also tackle. I don't care if we reset the market with him, he's 25 and worth it. I'll do a full write up at some point, but that is worth expressing by itself.

I’d rather have Fields than Jones. Younger, more upside, not injury prone.

Ballhawking? 5 interceptions in 4 years is pedestrian.

Only problem with this is some guys will have a mutual competitor respect for each other and I’m not saying Fields is like this because I don’t know but have enough respect for a guy you don’t want to take his job or be the reason he fails

Mostly agree w/ the OP except for Daniel Jones. What exactly is AR going to learn from him? How to play just well enough to get a big extension from a desperate team and then completely shit the bed after that?

If we're going the support AR route then my vote is Mariota or (as I suggested in another post) try to bring Minshew back if possible.

Also, keeping Braden Smith is going to be tough if we want to make a splash in FA. We currently have $28M of cap space, so some room but not a ton to make many significant moves. Smith currently counts ~$20M against the cap and is a ~$17M cap savings if released. So unless he's willing to take a cut w/ a short extension he's probably gone.

Another player who's probably gone (or at least should be) is Raekwon Davis. He's ~$9M against the cap and would be a ~$6.5M savings is released.

I agree with the OP except, Braden Smith. Braden has to go, for 3 reasons...cap hit, injury concerns, overall subpar play.

Kelly has to stay because...he wants to play, he won't cost much, the O-line is noticeably better when ha plays.

Agree with IndyNorm Raekwon was not good and must go.

I believe FS is a bigger need in an Anuromo defense than CB.

I never wanna see EJ Speed in a Colts uni again.

I like the Baun idea. I would double down on that and draft Danny Stutsman in the 3rd. He's another good coverage LB with length.

We have to draft or sign young impact DT.

Ballard want QB2 to compete with AR for QB1. That's not Minshew or Marriota. That's either Fields or Jones.

Fixed it for you.

Interceptions can be misleading, like sacks and tackles. I've read and watched some about him lately because he's intriguing. He may not have the INTs, but he flies sideline-to-sideline and does his job keeping deep stuff in check, despite a lower graded '24.

Consensus seems to be that he's a top 3-5 FA and likely the #1 defensive FA and not even 25 yet. Only a possibility because the Dolphins cap situation is kind of fucked and the market makes him expensive. But as important as FS seems to be for Anarumo, this seems like a worthy consideration.

Here's an interesting Dolphins article about him. Ends with a prediction that Colts sign him for 5yrs/$100m.

https://dolphinswire.usatoday.com/20...5-free-agency/

Camryn Bynum is the other name I see that I'm not sold on. Keep Blackmon in that case, who could return to form with a new DC.

Aside from Safety:

1.) Bring Fries back. Smith and Kelly could be cap casualties... I'm not sure. I read they could restructure Nelson, Pittman, Buckner, and some others and gain like $50m+ in cap space.

2.) Justin Fields in the context of being tied to AR (neither are my preferred style of QB). Other 10 guys don't have to adjust as much, true 1:1 competition. If neither pan out... we're at ground zero.

3.) Draft Tyler Warren. If he's gone, could have an interesting toss-up between TE Loveland and S Starks. However unlikely... I have seen some scenarios where CB Will Johnson drops, in which case he trumps those two.

4.) Draft a RB, no FA. There's a shitload of 3rd and 4th round RBs this year.

Pretty sure that Fields is staying in Pittsburgh

I agree with the premise that Holland may be a good safety signing. But what is the definition of ballhawking to you or dammy? For me ballhawking, would at least indicate a DB that creates interceptions.

Yeah, in that case, probably just a semantics thing. I didn't use the term myself, but I'd consider it a sideline-to-sideline guy that keeps QBs from challenging as much because he reads/reacts and explodes to the ball. Stuff that does complete is tackled quickly. What were they, 4th best 20+yd completions?

Just gets to the ball with authority, may or may not rack up INTs. Whatever we call that.

I understand everyone's prespective that they want to fill holes for the 2025 season but....it will not matter.

We don't have the right guy at QB, IMO. If we don't fill the biggest, deepest and most important hole first, none of the rest of the bandaids matter.

I get why we are rolling one more year with the status quo. We drafted him at #5 overall and you have to give him that third year to play. But, again IMO, that 3rd year is not going to look any better than years one and two and we will be in this exact same position in 12 monthes having gone 8-9 or 9-8 missing the playoffs and drafting #13, #14 or #15. We don't have the right QB to succeed.

So, on that note, my hope for the off-season is that we get younger and have more pieces in place so when the new GM, HC and QB are all found in 2025 for the 2026 season, we can start over hoping we found our new QB of the future.

And, please management, stop using the RAS score as your sole metric for player acquisition.

Technically AR has 15 QB starts, so not even a full season of games played. I'm not ready to say he's not the right guy at QB just yet. Once he backed off his stance of working with his guys in the off season, that showed growth and gave me a glimmer of hope.

Apparently AR has swallowed his pride, separated friendships from success and will be working with Josh Allen's team this off season. Again, that is just a glimmer of hope. But I believe that the common consensus was to write off Josh Allen after his 1st season as well.

How did that work out?

Assuming whatever kept him out at the end of the year is a nonfactor in 2025 can Smith's contract be reworked and move him to right guard? He had decent scores as a run blocker and could tranlate better as a run & pass blocker from the interior. Running the ball inside consistently and stopping inside pressure would go a long way to getting the best out of AR.

Fries could come back healthy and ready to play and that isn't bad for competition or depth.

Kelly to me is the one to go. His run blocking was pretty poor last year and believe Bortolini will develop quickly.

Fries played very well before getting hurt last year. If Smith's play has regressed to the point that he's not able to play RT well enough, he should be cut or take a massive pay cut and compete for the RG spot. I thought Goncalves showed himself more than capable of starting at RT.

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George, you talk too much ...... 37 posts in 8 years ...... I'm surprised that the moderators don't have the "Post Whore" moniker attached to your profile.

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I hadn't heard that. That's actually really encouraging. I wonder if he had a come to Jesus moment or if Steichen sat him down and convince him to move on to coaches w/ more proven success.

Same here, I hadn't heard. It's that kind headspace he'll need to get somewhere. Humbleness, but also a chip on your shoulder.

He seemed different after the benching. Hopefully he stays grounded and understands how much work it will be... but also pissed off to the point where he can't miss a day.

fries is a damn good rg.


if we bring him back, he is the guy. moving smith at this point is dumb.

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A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush.

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Fries has started one full season, is coming off a major season ending injury and is a free agent. The contingency option to renegotiate a cheaper short term contract for an aging player that can still play RG at a decent level and also back-up RT is clearly a ridiculous option.

Smith would be a good depth swing guy for the right side, albeit expensive at his current contract.