Colts’ Owner Jim Irsay is an avid Twitter user and the Colts’ new regime is known for making bold moves, especially this offseason as they’ve committed themselves fully to the rebuilding project, cutting several well known veterans. Irsay made waves with a series of tweets today, tweeting “TRADE WINDS BLOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SERIOUS TRADE WINDS Swirling! We’re talking given up high pick for SERIOUS Vet/Starter!.. these deals often crumble n don’t reach completion. Colts Fans..Your GM Mr Grigson isn’t afraid to roll the dice n aggressively improve YOUR Indianapolis Colts..n my check book stands ready!, 9 times out of 10 these deals fizzle out like a faulty Roman Candle;any other info at this time is proprietary,must move behind the curtain!”
The obvious names that people speculated were Mike Wallace and Maurice Jones-Drew, but those two are very unlikely, especially since neither of those player’s teams are willing to trade those players. The Colts could really use an upgrade at any position as they haven’t drafted a Pro-Bowler since 2006, so a number of other players could be in the running, specifically players who are looking for long term contracts who are not getting them from their current teams.
NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora believes it will be an offensive lineman, leading to some floating the name of Broncos’ left tackle Ryan Clady out there. Clady rejected a 5 year, 50 million dollar extension from the Broncos earlier this month, as he heads into a contract year. The Broncos don’t seem to be willing to pay him what he’s worth. Clady would play left tackle for the Colts and move 2011 1st round pick Anthony Castonzo to right tackle, where the Colts have a huge hole right now. However, it’s unlikely that the Broncos, who feel they are built to win now with a 36 year old quarterback, trade Clady, especially this close to the season, even if they feel they can’t keep him after the season.
Meanwhile, Phil Richards of the Indianapolis Star, one of the Colts’ best beat writers, predicts it will be a cornerback. The names of the Ravens’ Cary Williams and the Dolphins’ Vontae Davis have been floated around. Williams is heading into the final year of his deal and could lose his job to 2011 1st round pick Jimmy Smith after a rough preseason. Williams reportedly rejected a 3 year, 15 million dollar extension earlier this offseason and may now be regretting it after getting torched by Julio Jones, Calvin Johnson, and Justin Blackmon so far in the preseason. The definition of a marginal cornerback, Williams allowed 61 completions on 116 attempts (52.6%) for 863 yards (7.4 YPA), 4 touchdowns and no interceptions, while deflecting 14 passes and committing 5 penalties in 2011, his first year as a starter.
Davis, meanwhile, actually has two more years left on his deal. However, despite playing very well last season, he reportedly showed up out of shape for Training Camp and has fallen out of favor with the coaching staff, who has moved him to the 2nd string on the depth chart and forced him to win back his starting job against Sean Smith and Richard Marshall. Davis allowed 36 completions on 66 attempts (54.5%) for 496 yards (7.5 YPA), 3 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions, while deflecting 6 passes and committing 4 penalties last year.
Sean Smith has reportedly done the opposite of Davis this offseason, showing up to camp slimmed down 24 pounds to 6-3 190, making a strong impression, and looking poised to bounce back from a down season. In 2011 he allowed 61 completions on 104 attempts (58.7%) for 793 yards (7.6 YPA), 5 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions, while deflecting 5 passes and committing 2 penalties. In 2010, he allowed 24 completions on 45 attempts (53.3%) for 325 yards (7.2 YPA), 1 touchdown and 1 interception, while deflecting 8 passes and committing 1 penalty in 11 starts at cornerback.
Richard Marshall, meanwhile, is looking continue his strong play from 2011. He allowed 28 completions on 54 attempts (51.9%) for 394 yards (7.3 YPA), 2 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions, while deflecting 5 passes and committing 6 penalties last season. He ranked 3rd in the league in receptions per coverage snap, 7th in yards per coverage snap, and 2nd in targets per coverage snap. Davis might be an option for a trade if he hasn’t done enough to earn back his starting job. I think it’s probably more likely that no trade happens, but it’s fun to speculate and a trade certainly seems possible.
If you’re interested in doing a fantasy football league with me, here’s the link (no draft date set yet, currently standard, with the option to become PPR with group vote). http://msn.foxsports.com/fantasy/football/commissioner/Registration/Private.aspx?league=55086&password=FanSpot2
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