The Indianapolis Colts and new GM Ryan Grigson have a lot on their plate this offseason with the Peyton Manning drama and the impending mystery... er, picking of Andrew Luck with the 1st selection in the NFL draft. There's plenty to be seen in the free agency market as well though, as the Colts have a whopping 19 players scheduled to be Unrestricted Free Agents.
After such a terrible and talent lacking season, it's likely that a lot of the players on the list will be let go but there's a few big names for the Colts that they're probably going to look at bringing back into the blue and white, most of whom have been around for a while and were winning the games with Peyton Manning before the neck injury. The four most key free agents to get back for the Colts are the names you would probably expect to see on a team with such a small amount of star power:
WR Reggie Wayne - Since Marvin Harrison stopped being Peyton's go to guy, Wayne took over the role. A guy with over 10,000 receiving yards and over 70 receiving TD's in his great career should be snapped back up by the Colts, especially if they want Andrew Luck to have someone reliable to throw to assuming Manning isn't coming back. The rumors of Wayne heading to a team like the Patriots have already begun so Wayne will probably be priority number one for the Colts to get back.
DE Robert Mathis - On a team that has long been essentially just 'Peyton Manning and friends' on its way to winning games, Mathis has been the star on the defensive side of the ball alongside Dwight Freeney, piling up sacks and making four straight pro bowls. If the Colts want a defensive presence next year as their rebuild starts they'll need to keep both of those guys, as there's very little to talk about behind them.
WR Pierre Garcon - He wasn't great in 2011, but then nobody on the Colts was. He did just enough to show that it's probably not just Peyton Manning making him look better than he actually is, and he might actually turn into an intriguing signing for a different team in need of a depth receiver if the Colts don't get him back.
OL Jeff Saturday - One of the only consistent names on the Colts offensive line for most of Manning's career, they'll need all the help they can get to keep Andrew Luck upright in 2012.
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Colts Free Agency 2012: Robert Mathis, Reggie Wayne Among Big UFA Names For Indianapolis
Feb 15
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