3/27 indy star articles

[JAFF]

Colts rebuffed trades for Ryan Kelly, Kenny Moore II this offseason, GM Chris Ballard says

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...n/70054145007/

PHOENIX — Barring a shocking development, Ryan Kelly and Kenny Moore II aren’t going anywhere.

Not this season.

The Colts fielded trade requests on both of the former Pro Bowlers, but general manager Chris Ballard said the team ultimately decided to hold on to two players who have been key parts of the locker room in Indianapolis for a long time.

“We had some calls on them, but at the end of the day, they’re good football players for us,” Ballard said. “And they’re good people. … When you’ve got a good football player that’s a great person and a good fit, it makes it hard to move away from those guys.”


Trading either player would have given Indianapolis significant salary cap relief, although the Colts currently have roughly $20 million in space available, placing them among the NFL’s top 10 at this point.

Kelly, who has made three Pro Bowls in his seven seasons in Indianapolis, would have saved Indianapolis $7.875 million in cap space. The 29-year-old center, like most of the Colts offensive line, failed to play up to expectations in 2022, allowing four sacks and struggling at times to control the point of attack in the running game.


Moore II’s case was even more complicated.

Frustrated with the final two years of the four-year extension he signed in 2020 and coming off his first Pro Bowl nod in 2021, Moore II did not participate in the team’s organized activities in an effort to renegotiate his contract, although he did not hold out from the team’s mandatory minicamp or training camp.


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Indianapolis held firm, and once the season began, Moore II was unable to replicate his previous numbers in Gus Bradley’s system.

For the first time in five years as a Colts starter, Moore II did not record an interception, broke up just four passes and allowed opponents to compile a 106.8 passer rating against him, according to Sports Info Solutions. Moore II also missed the final five games of the season with an ankle injury.



Trading the fan favorite would have produced $8.166 million in cap space, but it would also have left the Indianapolis defense without an experienced cornerback after the team’s decision to trade Stephon Gilmore to the Cowboys for a fifth-round pick.

From the sounds of it, the time for other teams to blow the Colts away with an offer for either player has passed.

Ballard’s counting on them to be part of the roster this season.

“They’re here, and look, they’re both great Colts,” Ballard said. “We’re glad they’re here.”

[JAFF]

Insider: Colts are putting in work on complex Lamar Jackson possibility
Joel A. Erickson
Indianapolis Star

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...y/70052639007/

PHOENIX — The best quarterback on the market made his intentions clear Monday morning.

And the Colts haven't ruled out the possibility of making a run at Lamar Jackson.

The former MVP sent a shockwave through the NFL owners' meetings in Arizona on Monday morning, revealing via his Twitter account that he'd requested a trade out of Baltimore on March 2.

A handful of the NFL's quarterback-needy teams have already indicated they're not interested in pursuing Jackson, who is reportedly trying to land a guarantee-heavy contract better than the one Deshaun Watson signed in Cleveland last spring. But an Indianapolis franchise desperate for a difference-maker at quarterback wasn't afraid to acknowledge Monday that Jackson remains a possibility.


"Any time a special player is available — which he is — you've got to do the work," Colts general manager Chris Ballard said Monday afternoon. "I’m not going to get into deep discussions on where it’s at or what we’re doing or what we might do, but what I’ll tell you is he’s a really good player, a really special player, but you never know how any of this will work out.”

The Ravens are still trying to make the case that they can keep Jackson. Baltimore has placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on their former MVP, a marker that allows other teams to negotiate with him as a free agent but gives the Ravens the chance to match any deal Jackson might be able to get elsewhere.


If a team does sign Jackson to a contract the Ravens won't match, Baltimore would get two first-round draft picks in return, and if no team makes a play for Jackson, the quarterback could play for the Ravens in 2023 at a cost of $32.416 million.

Ravens head coach Jim Harbaugh spent his media session Monday trying to make the case that Baltimore could still keep the face of its franchise, and the NFL Network reported shortly after Harbaugh finished that the two sides have been negotiating since the trade request.


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But the quarterback’s statement was resolute in his desire to play elsewhere.

“I requested a trade from the Ravens organization, for which the Ravens (have) not been interested in meeting my value,” Jackson said. “Any and everyone that’s met me or been around me know I love the game of football, and my dream is to help a team win the Super Bowl. You all are great, but I had to make a business decision that was best for my family and I.”



Lamar Jackson trade request:Are the Colts a fit for the 2019 NFL MVP?

Colts Insider:Should the Colts pursue QB Lamar Jackson? A look at the pros, cons and likelihood

Oct 11, 2021; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) passes the ball against the Indianapolis Colts during the second quarter at M&T Bank Stadium.
Indianapolis is looking into the possibility.

New Colts head coach Shane Steichen deflected two questions about Jackson in his morning availability; Ballard directly acknowledged that the team is putting in work on a potential acquisition.

"I would just say it's ongoing," Ballard said.

The Colts' need for a difference-maker at the position is obvious.

Indianapolis has been spinning its wheels at the quarterback position ever since Andrew Luck's shocking retirement, bringing in a string of veterans who produced declining results with each move. The Colts hold the No. 4 pick in a quarterback-rich draft, but there are two teams picking in front of Indianapolis, Carolina at No. 1 and Houston at No. 2 that also need quarterbacks.


The Colts likely won't have a chance to pick the top-rated quarterback on their board.

Jackson represents a different kind of solution to the team's ongoing problem.

Only 26 years old, Jackson would be a long-term answer at the NFL's most important position, a player who has won an MVP and quarterbacked the Ravens to playoff appearances in four of his five seasons in Baltimore.

But making a move on Jackson is a little more complicated than simply signing another free agent.

For starters, Jackson serves as his own agent, a wrinkle that makes any negotiation different. More importantly, Jackson is reportedly asking for a record deal with heavy guarantees — NFL teams must place any guaranteed money in contracts into escrow, so they have to have the cash on hand — and his run-heavy style has led to ankle and knee injuries that have cost him five games in each of the last two seasons, sinking promising Baltimore seasons.


Any team, including the Colts, has to weigh the possibility of guaranteeing big money to a player who has dealt with injury and makes a lot of big plays by putting himself at risk of injury.

Indianapolis currently has roughly $20 million in salary cap space available, which ranks eighth-most in the NFL, but the Colts would likely need to make some moves to fit the contract that Jackson is requesting under the salary cap, particularly if he wants a fully-guaranteed deal.

But as complex as the situation remains, Jackson can make the kind of difference a team has to contemplate.

"Any time, at that position, if you’ve got a chance to acquire a guy, you’ve got to do the work on it to see if it’s doable,” Ballard said. “Sometimes it is. Sometimes it’s not.”

The Colts are trying to figure that out right now.