The situation facing the Indianapolis Colts was intriguing. Many supporters believed that since Andrew Luck led his club to two Super Bowls, the team should have selected Russell Wilson in the 2012 NFL draft instead of Luck when he retired. For many, 2022 was an opportunity to make amends. Many supporters were eager to pay a king’s ransom for Wilson, even though it was claimed that he was up for trade with the Seahawks.
Early in 2022, rumors circulated that Jim Irsay was an admirer of the quarterback. Colts message boards were ablaze with conjecture about what it would cost and if it would be worth it to acquire Wilson. While it’s true that some probably didn’t want him, many thought Wilson could help the Colts overcome their setback and offer long-term stability during a season in which they missed the playoffs and Carson Wentz was made the fall guy. Less than two years ago, the Broncos traded players, two firsts, two seconds, and a fifth round draft selection to acquire him.
Even while Matt Ryan wasn’t exactly a world beater for the Colts, they were still able to cut their losses for a lot less money a year later after giving up a lot less. Although it didn’t work out, things could have gone considerably worse, as you can see. To be specific, the Broncos will be responsible for 85 million dollars in dead money.
What would have happened if the Colts had gone to all of these hoops to sign Wilson just to bench him before his two-year contract expired? This team’s quarterback choices have left it with a bad taste in its mouth, but this would have been a carton full of eggs. Irsay would have appeared foolish, and this could have started the
The group would have given up expensive and high draft picks. Thirdly, for the following two years, the team would be severely underfunded due to a large dead cap hit. Teams take a long time to bounce back from that kind of foolishness.
Yes, the Colts have had negative press occasionally, but thank heavens, this wasn’t one of those times. This seems like a bad deal. I’m happy Chris Ballard was unable to close the deal to get Wilson for the Colts, or at least wasn’t paying attention, to all the armchair general managers out there who were begging the team to do so. The finest deals are sometimes the ones that never happen. For Wilson and Colts supporters, this is undoubtedly the case.
