Training camp is fast approaching and there has been plenty of chatter about Andrew Luck‘s impending contract. Is it going to be fully guaranteed or is it just going to be the biggest contract in NFL history? Regardless of what the number is, the only reality we have is that this contract is going to strap the Colts for a long time. The impending deal is going to be bigger than anything Peyton Manning had and we all know how his contracts strapped the team for the majority of his tenure in Indy. Manning never had a great defense, but he was thwarted big time offensive weapons and an above average offensive line. The biggest question for me is, “Do the Colts have enough young (and cheap) talent on this roster that can be relevant for years to come?” After this contract is signed the team is going to have to rely on them and on GM Ryan Grigson to find some unpolished diamonds like his predecessor Bill Polian often did.
How can I be so sure? Simply, the numbers that are being thrown around are the biggest anyone has seen in NFL History. Sure, the salary cap will get bigger, but Luck’s money against the cap is going to make it very difficult for the team to make any significant moves if they need to especially when players like Anthony Castonzo, TY Hilton, Dwayne Allen, and Vontae Davis already having bigger contracts as well. The great thing about the Manning era is that Manning made everyone look good. Top that off with Polian knowing where to find cheap, young talent that impacted the team in some fashion making Manning’s money against the cap less drastic than it would’ve been for other teams. They were always contenders and got to two Super Bowl’s during that span. However, let me say the obvious statement here, Ryan Grigson is nowhere near the league of Bill Polian.
Once the Colts sign their franchise quarterback to the biggest NFL contract in the history of the league it will be on Grigson to make sure he can replenish the roster with guys who are 2-4 million per year guys. Guys like Donte Moncrief and Jack Mewhort will be the next biggest offensive contracts that will hit the team but unless they have dominant seasons I can’t see them costing the team an arm and a leg to re-sign. The offensive line is young enough now, and shows some signs of talent, that it shouldn’t be a worry for the team if Mewhort can’t be brought back. The Colts have a few young running backs in their stable that they are hoping can develop behind Frank Gore and take over his spot when he does call it a career. That leaves the biggest problem for the team to deal with during this time frame. The defensive unit.
Grigson and his scouts have worked very hard to bring in young play makers from the draft or after the draft, but they are largely unproven. David Parry and Henry Anderson showed they could play last season, but Anderson is still kind of hurt right now. Guys like Zach Kerr and T.Y. McGill have showed promise, but never really had the time to show what they really can do. The linebackers are older and won’t be around much longer and the secondary is getting quite old as well, except for Clayton Geathers. I’m not sold on their 2nd round pick TJ Green at all as long term replacement for veteran Mike Adams and that is what Grigson can’t do anymore. He cannot afford to waste picks or free agency money on pipe dream players once Luck gets paid. The Colts can’t rely on Luck to make a lackluster defense look decent like Manning was able to do for years. They really need that unit to just be average and let Luck make them look good.
I heard something on the Dan Dakich Show, and it is the truest statement about his whole situation I think I have heard, that if the Colts pay Luck all this money and miss on one too many people in the draft or free agency then this team will be in NFL purgatory. That is a fear I have about Grigson still making these decisions. He has missed far too often even with his success stories. Locking him up and making him happy is priority number one for sure, but priority number two is to build a good team on a tight budget. I’m not sold Grigson can do it, but I don’t find it utterly hopeless either.
