PHOENIX — After six different starting quarterbacks in the first six straight seasons, and after long misses in each of the past two years — with the memory still fresh in their minds — the Colts haven’t entirely ruled out a sideline appearance. 2023. possibility of similar situations. Do not follow, as ambitious, expensive and dangerous as chasing after a player like Lamar Jackson.
But late Monday night, owner Jim Ilsay made it clear from the balcony of his hotel suite in Phoenix that one path he wouldn’t take was to give Jackson – or any player, for that matter – a fully guaranteed contract, something Jackson could be looking for after asking the Ravens for a trade earlier this month.
“For me, for the sake of the game, boy, I don’t think a fully guaranteed contract is good for our game,” Ilsay said. “I’ve seen the impact it’s had on other sports leagues, I just don’t think it’s positive… I lean more towards the old school owners, Wayne Rooney, Maras and Harasse. All the world has to move with the times, that sort of thing. Our game is great for a lot of reasons, but I don’t think a guaranteed contract will make our game bigger, I think it will make it worse.”
Even outside of the guaranteed contract debate, the conversation surrounding the Ravens quarterback pursuit remains complicated, and the Colts are well aware of that. But this is a team determined to shake off the QB carousel of back-to-back season ruins, a team tired of having no answer at the most critical position on the court.
The motivation to solve this mystery is real, and the stakes rise with each lost season.
Irsay very much sounded like an owner determined to do it through the draft, not via a trade that would require a massive contract and cost the Colts two first-round picks.
“It’s not about real dollars,” Irsay said of a potentially lucrative contract. “I mean, paying for a contract like this is not a problem, not a problem for me, I know. It’s not a problem.
“I mean, the issue is, what’s the right thing to do for the franchise, in terms of what helps us win in the long run? I mean, you need more than just a quarterback.”
What Ilsay is saying is that the lucrative contract Jackson will receive will limit the team’s ability to meet other roster needs. Owners hate the thought of giving up two first-round picks, even for a talent like Jackson.
The Colts’ No. 4 pick in next month’s draft adds another layer of intrigue, not to mention the obvious motivation: They’re behind two teams — Carolina and Houston — that almost certainly have scrambled former Two quarterbacks . Indy’s options don’t look that good no matter how hard they try to spin it.
Meanwhile, Jackson’s desire to leave Baltimore is too good to just ignore. The Colts know it. They haven’t ruled out playing for the 26-year-old former league MVP, a player who, if acquired, would instantly inflame a dormant team and propel the Colts into the AFC.
“As long as there’s a special player available – and he is – you have to get the job done, right?” Colts general manager Chris Ballard said Monday. “I’m not going to go into the depths of what it is or what we’re doing or what we can do, but what I’m going to tell you is that he’s a very good player, a very special player. But you never know how this will all be resolved.”
Translation: We know where we are and we know how good he is. We do not refuse.
“We do our due diligence in every position, whether it’s draft or free agency,” Steichen said. “But I don’t have an update on that.”
But from what Irsay said on Monday night, Jackson looks a lot like one of the less likely options right now.
The boss is tired of the old line and marked by the absence of the last two seasons and the cost to his team. He said Monday night he was absolutely against trading Carson Wentz before the 2021 season.
“I didn’t want to do it… I wasn’t ready and I spoke,” he said.
Now, with the franchise’s first pick for over a decade, he sees an opportunity for his team to build it the way he’s always loved it: through the draft. He repeatedly cites that the league’s most successful teams — Kansas City, Buffalo, Philadelphia — have all done it with homegrown quarterbacks.
“When you have a rookie quarterback, it gives you the ability to build a team for the first three or four years,” he said, referring to the contractual flexibility that rookie contracts provide. “When you have a rookie quarterback, you know, in those years you’ll have the opportunity to really have some extra money to improve your team.”
Even outside of Irsay’s hard line against guaranteed contracts, the Colts landing Jackson at this point are still a long way off for other reasons, starting with the fact that the Ravens still have plenty of clout. By placing a nonexclusive tag on the quarterback, the Ravens allow other teams to negotiate with Jackson while still maintaining the ability to match any offer he accepts and keep him in Baltimore.
If the Ravens reject the offer sheet that Jackson received from another team – which, of course, should be much more than what Baltimore has already offered him – they will get two first-round picks from the team. in compensation for what brand to exchange for Jackson.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh repeated what he said throughout Arizona on Monday, swearing he still believed Jackson would be the Ravens’ starter in 2023.
“Keep thinking about Lamar “, said Harbaugh. “Think of him as our quarterback. We’re building our offense around that idea. I’m just looking forward to getting back into football, which I think will happen.
But Jackson’s trade request confirms what was widely assumed around the league. It’s not just that negotiations between the two sides are stuck at an impasse, it’s that the quarterback wants out.
Jackson is reportedly looking for a fully guaranteed contract or something close. “The Ravens are not interested in upholding my values,” he tweeted Monday. Even if Jackson were to settle for less than the $230 million deal Deshaun Watson secured in Cleveland last year, it would be a significant financial investment — potentially more than $150 million — that would require immediate guarantees from escrow.
The Colts have no clear incentive to do anything before the draft. So far, Jackson hasn’t garnered much interest from other teams, and if the Colts wait any longer, they’ll take the No. 1 pick. Pick No. 4, their reward for a disastrous 4-12-1 season in 2022. If Indianapolis lands. With Jackson in the draft, the Colts’ 2024 and 2025 first-round picks head to Baltimore, which could have been much lower had Jackson been on the roster.
The Colts have a $20 million salary cap, and Ballard has ruled out leaving the two veterans he recently received – center Ryan Kelly and cornerback Kenny Moore II. Both are struggling through 2022, and cutting either would free up $8 million in cap space, but Ballard has committed to both the Colts in 2023.
“They’re both great Colts, and we’re glad they’re here,” he said. “When you have a great football player with a great person and a good fit, it’s very hard to walk away from those people.”
It’s hopeless how some people describe the franchise, but that’s not how Ballard works. GM refuses to be held back, nor does it act out of fear – fear of upsetting its fans or losing its job. He has long insisted that drafting a quarterback would “get everybody out of my ass” – a phrase he has often chosen – the best course of action for the team, in his opinion Yes , no matter how urgent the need, do not force it .
“I don’t want to make a blind decision without all the information,” Ballard said Monday. “And I know people might not understand that. But I just think history tells you that when you do that, you know better what you’re getting, and we weren’t ready to do that at the time. And then we felt the concept had enough depth and it will be fine.”
Ballard’s caution did not always pay off. His refusal to sign a young passer in recent years has led the Colts down a rocky path of poaching waived veterans from other teams. A year after they missed Carson Wentz so much, they missed Matt Ryan so much. The result: 19 horrific games — dating back to the Colts’ two-game drop through the end of 2021 — exposing flaws in Ballard’s approach and pushing a team to the brink of error from the bottom of the League in the playoffs playoffs.
Ilsay played down the idea that Ballard is in danger and defended his GM credentials, but acknowledged that “every coach and GM has to win in this league” and he hopes to see improvement in 2023.
This is partly the reason for the change in mentality. For starters, no more swinging against aging quarterbacks. Ballard has never been an unapologetic big spender in free agency and hasn’t been impressed with the market this year, so he’s mostly taken deep marks so far. At quarterback, he added veteran Gardner Minshew, who can start or support a rookie when needed.
Irsay also took a more measured approach, and the Colts stopped convincing themselves they were closer than they actually were. More importantly, it’s a lasting lesson for 2021 and 2022, and Ballard and Ilsay vow to learn from it.
“He knows the history of the game,” Ballard said of his owner, citing Ilsay’s years of experience with top quarterbacks. “He also knows how tough these guys are.”
Irsay seemed comforted by the prospect of finally succeeding, setting his team up for success “for the next 10 years”.
“It will be a very, very important decision for the next month,” said the owner. “I mean, with the quarterback draft, we pick where we pick, man, man, it’s really a great time to see where we’re going.
“We’re not going to turn down any opportunity or high-paying player,” he continued. “You never will. But you just have to do what’s best for your franchise. That’s where you don’t want to make mistakes, mistakes made out of impatience or haste.”
“We’re not closing the door to any possibility or a high-paid player,” he continued. “You never do. But you simply are going to do what’s best for your franchise to win. It’s something where you just don’t wanna make a mistake, a mistake by impatience, or by rushing it.”
Leave a Comment