Trey Hendrickson
 

SI says the Colts are "top landing spot" for Trey Hendrickson

Obviously it would depend on the price, but I think he'd be a great addition to the team. Suggested compensation I've seen online is a 2026 2 and a 2026 6. That's pretty steep, but I could potentially stomach it for the benefit.

The biggest counterargument is the Trey Hendrickson we have at home, Laiatu Latu. That said, who would complain about having 2 Trey Hendricksons?

That compensation seems fair considering the huge contract he wants. I am just not sure I am down for an all-in move when the most important part of the team is a glaring question mark and kind of looks like shit.

I don't know which way I lean. If they signed him tomorrow, I'd be super excited. If they decide not to... I get it.

I also don't really trust most of these articles, although it's pretty clear that Hendrickson is having a struggle session with CIN's front office.

The biggest obstacle I see is the future salary demands. How can we make that work?

Backloading. Give him a 5 year deal with a $45 million signing bonus and a $5 million fully guaranteed first year salary. $50 million cash year 1, $14 million year 1 cap hit.

Isn't backloading contracts the opposite of how Ballard usually handles contracts?

They can restructure deals for guys like Buckner, Pitman, and Taylor.

Not recently. Ward and Bynum are heavily backloaded, Buckner contract has a void year where he's not under contract but counts $7.2 million against the cap, and he counts $26.6 million against the cap the next 2 years because his cap hit last year was $8.35 million.

How much restructure room is there with Buckner and how much do you want to kick the can down the road?

I have no idea, I was just giving an option of how to get a contract done.

5 year, $150 million with $75 million fully guaranteed (can put roster bonuses in final 2 years to inflate the guarantee number as high as you'd like)

https://ibb.co/rKvPqqfp

I agree with the thought that....don't go all in until you know you are close.

I think we are closer to doing a complete team sell as we look for our next QB rather than a team buy because we are close.

I think our team has solid talent at all positions besides QB. I think we will win 7-9 games this year and miss the playoffs again due to lack of talent at QB.

And, I think that is not going to change without a serious change in direction which starts with new a new GM and HC.

So, if we do indeed under achieve again in 2025, I think 2026 should be a tank year with a new GM, HC so that we are in position to draft a QB in 2027.

In that note, I think we should be selling next off-season instead of buying this off-season.

So, I would say "no" to a Hendrickson deal.

2026 SELL:

Pittman - $24.0m cap savings - 29 years old - 1 year left on contract
Buckner - $15.8m cap savings - 32 years old - 1 year left on contract
Nelson - $18.0m cap savings - 30 years old - 1 year left on contract
Taylor - $13.0m cap savings - 27 years old - 1 year left on contract
Stewart - $12.3m cap savings - 33 years old - 1 year left on contract
Moore - $10.0m cap savings - 31 years old - 1 year left on contract

By trading the above folks, we increase the Colts 2026 free cap space from $71.6m to $164.7m in order for the new GM to start shaping a younger team to help a new rookie QB in 2027 plus able to use the draft picks trading those players would bring.

All those players could help someone else get over the top....it would just not be the Colts.

No faith in the crapshoot that is hoping AR takes the Year 3 Josh Allen leap?

I'm so torn on Hendrickson! There two reasons that this is the case Hendrickson's age 30+ season and the other is the reasoning that Sherck gives.
Basically, if we don't have the QB, what difference does it make?

I would wait until at least a few weeks into training camp to see what we have, before pulling the trigger.

Anthony Richardson

2020 - Univ of Florida - 001 or 002 pass attempts = 50.0%
2021 - Univ of Florida - 038 of 064 pass attempts = 59.4%
2022 - Univ of Florida - 176 of 327 pass attempts = 53.8%
2023 - Indpls Colts ---- 050 of 084 pass attempts = 59.5%
2024 - Indpls Colts ---- 126 of 264 pass attempts = 47.7%

No, I do not believe that his historical trend of pass accuracy is going to get any better just because he is now in year 3 of the NFL......

[EDIT]
That said, Josh Allen:

2015 - Univ of Wyo - 004 of 006 pass attempts = 66.7%
2016 - Univ of Wyo - 209 of 373 pass attempts = 56.0%
2017 - Univ 0f Wyo - 152 of 270 pass attempts = 56.3%
2018 - Buffalo Bills - 169 0f 320 pass attempts = 52.8%
2019 - Buffalo Bills - 217 of 461 pass attempts = 58.8%

So, if we were sitting after year two of the Josh Allen experience, I would also probably be saying that we don't have our QB of the future as well.

Of course, Allen threw for 5,100 yards/30 TD in his first two NFL seasons and Richardson threw for 2,300 yards/11 TD so that could have swayed my opinion as well.... :)

My head knows the probability is incredibly low that AR ever amounts to anything in a Colts uniform, but my heart can't help but hold out hope that he will become the franchise QB we've been looking for since Luck retired.

Why is Ballard stull here. He fkd this orig for years.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl...5cc66221&ei=53

No way we trade assets for him and then pay him what he wants. No other team is going to, either. This is why he is still in Cincy.

I am in the same boat. I doubt it will happen but I still think the talent is there to be a really good qb. I just don't know if his head is fully in the game.

Agree entirely with this comment.

I am not sure he wants football enough, is he willing to work harder than everyone else? Because that's what he needs to do. It's not just being the first in and last out of the building, it's what you do outside the work environment. Is he 100% committed, putting in the extra video work, working out with the receivers, TE's on his own? Is he paying for personal physiotherapists, a nutritionist, a masseur, taking all of the supplements to aid his bodies recovery? Does he have a chef preparing every meal.

I have read 100's of football autobiographies (i collect them), and many of the truly elite athletes do this as a matter of course, it is an investment into their career.

He seems like he is a great guy, we all know he is immensely talented, but he needs more than that to succeed at the elite level in the NFL.