Colts must re-sign their best players in 2024 NFL free agency.
The 2023 season was not anticipated to see the Indianapolis Colts play. This season was meant to be the start of a lengthy reconstruction toward a postseason appearance, especially with rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson leading the way. But no one informed the Colts of it. The Colts fought throughout the season, and even though Richardson only appeared in four games, they were 9-7 going into Week 18 and might have qualified for the postseason if they had defeated the Houston Texans.
Colts fans should not let their season’s unfortunate ending—a botched fourth-down conversion—get in the way of their continued passion for the franchise. Even though Richardson only participated in four games, he had the appearance of an NFL quarterback. They had a strong defense. All year long, they relied on Jonathan Taylor and his ability to score runs, and they were successful. It appears that the Colts will be in the running for a very long time. But in order to maintain the winning momentum, they will need to return important players from this year’s squad if they are to continue on this direction. There are two players in particular that the Colts should definitely sign again in March when they have free agency.
Although Michael Pittman Jr. did not make an All-Pro team or the Pro Bowl, few wide receivers performed as well as he did this season. With 109 receptions, Pittman ranked seventh in the NFL and fourth among wide receivers. This season, the only players to catch more balls than Pittman were CeeDee Lamb (135), Tyreek Hill (119), Amon-Ra St. Brown (119), and Evan Engram (114).
Pittman was not just a true workhorse, but he was also extremely productive. Pittman ranked 23rd among wide receivers with an average of 2.08 yards per route run, per playerprofiler.com. Despite having the 61st-best QB rating per target at his position (83.6), he managed to accomplish this. In 2023, Pittman was utterly dominant.
Nor was his performance in 2023 an aberration. Pittman caught 88 passes for 1,082 yards in 2021, averaging 2.12 yards per route run. Pittman is an incredibly talented receiver, despite terrible quarterback play and an offense that was unable to run its system during his 2022 season. Fortunately, the Colts have all they’ll need to get him back. They are presently expected to have the fifth-highest amount of cap space in the NFL this offseason—$66 million. They can also utilize the franchise tag to prevent Pittman from becoming a free agency if they are unable to spend that money on a long-term contract. Pittman is among the NFL’s top receivers.
