From his first days as Colts General Manager, Chris Ballard has been transparent, and sometimes even repetitive, about his approach to free agency. “Eventually what you would like to happen is you are paying your own guys”, and with big paydays awaiting some Colts in the next couple of years, it makes sense to start saving up some cash. Players like Anthony Castonzo (‘19), Ryan Kelly (‘19 but there is 5th-year clause), Ebron (‘19), T.Y. (‘20) and Luck (‘21) are gonna require some major paychecks if the Colts plan to bring them back.
Ballard has alluded to the fact that this is a “three-year process”, but he would be more open to bring in bigger names once the Colts were closer to contention.