INDIANAPOLIS — Kelvin Hayden got his wish Wednesday evening.
Hours before the former University of Illinois cornerback was due to be designated as the Indianapolis Colts’ franchise player, Hayden — who had made it known that he wasn’t interested in playing anywhere else — signed a five-year, $43 million deal with the team.
The deal includes approximately $22 million in guarantees and will pay Hayden about $29 million in the first three years of the contract. It also carries a 2009 salary-cap number somewhere between $6 million and $7 million.
“I did not want to go anywhere else and I am excited it has ended this way,” Hayden said in a team-released statement Thursday. “I started my career here and, hopefully, I can finish here. It is going down that path right now. I want to finish where I started. I am excited and want to be around the guys I have played with here.
“I have grown a bond, a four-year bond, and I am happy this will continue. I think I still have room for improvement and I could not be with a better organization. The organization is committed to winning and it shows on the field. That’s why I want to be a part of it.”
First-year head coach Jim Caldwell is happy the deal got done as quickly as it did.
“I just think that when you look at [Hayden] and what he’s been able to do over the years for us, he’s just done an exceptional job and had an exceptional career,” Caldwell said Thursday at the National Football Scouting Combine. “He’s 26 years old, so he’s at the right age. And his overall play has been outstanding.”
• One down, more to go — Hayden’s signing allows team president Bill Polian, Caldwell and the rest of the Colts’ front-office staff to focus their attention on several other players who could become unrestricted free agents at the end of the month. That list includes center Jeff Saturday along with running back Dominic Rhodes, safety Matt Giordano and strong-side linebacker Tyjuan Hagler.
Saturday is the key. Indianapolis would like to bring the four-time Pro Bowl selection back if the right kind of deal can be worked out for the right amount of money. Indianapolis officials opted not to franchise him Thursday.
“He’s with us until otherwise indicated,” Caldwell said. “He’s been and [the Colts] certainly anticipate him to continue to be a very, very important part of our offense.”
Other potential unrestricted free agents are cornerback Keiwan Ratliff, defensive tackle Darrell Reid and defensive end Josh Thomas. Offensive guard/tackle Dan Federkeil will be a restricted free agent, while running back Lance Ball, middle linebacker Buster Davis and defensive tackle Daniel Muir are exclusive-rights free agents.
“Right now, we’re in the process of evaluating. We’re working our way through this free agency process. We’ll see. We’re all kind of looking at some things from kind of different vantage points, see if we can put together a package where we can get the guys back on the field that we certainly need and desire,” the Colts’ coach said.
• Don’t count on other team’s free agents — Indianapolis has not been a major player in the veteran free-agent market since Bill Polian took over as the team’s president in 1998. That is not expected to change this year. The Colts prefer to re-sign their own and develop personnel through the draft.
That’s not to say that Indianapolis won’t look at who’s available, but at this point — especially with the team’s salary-cap situation — looking is about all the Colts can afford to do. Tennessee defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth had joked at the Pro Bowl about Peyton Manning’s attempts to have him consider Indianapolis as a potential destination for his services.
“Obviously, we have to be realistic too,” Caldwell admitted when asked about the possibility of adding a player like Haynesworth to the team’s smallish defensive-line rotation. “Just in terms in what we’re able to do, in terms of salary-cap issues and things of that nature. So we’re always kind of fiddling with them, tying to see where we can improve our squad, seeing where we have room to do certain things. But it’s also not fantasy land either.
“I think Bill, Chris [Polian] and Tom [Telesco] and those guys all do a great job in managing that aspect and letting us know what we’re able to do in those areas.”
• Marvin staying or going? — Rumors continue to swirl concerning wide receiver Marvin Harrison and his future with the Colts. NFL.com writer Adam Schefter wrote Wednesday that Indianapolis will “soon be parting ways” with Harrison due to the team’s tight salary-cap situation.
According to ProFootballTalk.com, Harrison has a $13.4 million salary-cap figure heading into the 2009 season. His base salary for next season will be $9 million. When a $2 million salary-cap acceleration for 2009 is included, the Colts could conceivably save $7 million in cap space with $6.4 million in dead money.
If Harrison is willing to reduce his 2009 base salary to $2 million, it would reduce his cap charge to $6.4 million and could create enough space that would allow him to remain in Indianapolis.
As far as on-the-field production, two members of the Colts coaching staff remain convinced that Harrison — who caught a career-low 60 passes for 636 yards and five touchdowns last season — can continue to be an important part of the team’s offense.
“He played pretty darn good [in 2008]. He played better, and I said this in the middle of the season, he was playing better than we were producing [as an offense],” Indianapolis assistant head coach/wide receivers coach Clyde Christensen said Wednesday.
“We were out of synch. A lot of things were out of synch [offensively]. He had some opportunities that could have been big days and they weren’t for one reason or the other. He’s an amazing guy. He was still humming pretty darn good. In my professional opinion, he was humming better than the [public] perception probably was. I didn’t see a huge dropoff skills-wise.”
For his part, Caldwell agrees with Christensen’s assessment.
“What I saw was a guy who’s as quick as he’s been. Still a guy with the outstanding hands that he’s always shown. Still with the ability to create some space for himself and get open,” Caldwell said. “I think it was just a couple of other things that happened during the course of the season. I think some looking from the outside in had a little different perception of that. But we did not see any diminishing in terms of his skills and ability.
“We certainly hope [that he remains with the team]. That’s what we anticipate. We’re not quite certain what’s going to happen, but we’d certainly love to have him back.”
Colts
Hayden's loyalty to Colts pays off
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Luck having fun with his first OTAs
A year ago, quarterback Andrew Luck was unable to attend the Indianapolis Colts’ organized team activity practices due to school commitments at Stanford.
Luck, though, went on to have a stellar year for the Colts despite the lack of summer work with the team. Still, in a sense, he is a rookie during this year’s OTA workouts.
“These are my first OTAs. I missed these last year, so I think it’s great. It’s great to get on the field with the defense and trouble-shoot some stuff. Obviously, some of us ran some of this stuff [offense] at Stanford [under new offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton]. But to get out there with the defense and trouble-shoot some stuff is good,” Luck said Wednesday as the team wrapped up its first week of on-field voluntary practice sessions. -
Colts' coordinators enjoying getting rookies acclimated
While the Indianapolis Colts put their rookies and a handful of second-year players through workouts this weekend at the team’s Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center, a pair of first-year coordinators are getting a chance to do some valuable on-field work as well.
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Werner, 36 others open Colts’ mini camp
The Indianapolis Colts welcomed 37 players to the start of the team’s rookie mini camp Friday at the West 56th Street headquarters.
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Colts hoping for more high marks on draft picks
A year ago, the Indianapolis Colts received high marks for the impact players the team added through the NFL draft.
Of the 10 players selected, five ended up either starting or seeing extensive playing time (quarterback Andrew Luck, tight ends Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen, wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and running back Vick Ballard) during the Colts’ 11-5 season.
While this year’s class may not rival that group in terms of name recognition and flash, it may produce just as many major contributors once the 2013 season gets underway. -
Werner at top of game
Bjoern Werner was a late comer to football. But after being selected in the first round of the 2013 National Football League draft by the Indianapolis Colts, Werner realizes that he has reached the pinnacle of the sport in a relatively short amount of time.
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Colts select pass rusher Werner in first round
The Indianapolis Colts selected Florida State defensive end Bjoern Werner. The 6-foot-3, 266-pound defensive lineman can also play left outside linebacker.
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Colts in wait-and-see mode for tonight’s NFL draft
As the 2013 NFL draft gets underway tonight at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, the Indianapolis Colts are continuing their wait-and-see stance in regard to the first-round pick.
The draft begins at 8 p.m. — televised by the NFL Network and ESPN — with the Kansas City Chiefs making the night’s first selection. Teams will have 10 minutes to make their decisions during the first round. Indianapolis will have the 24th overall pick in the first round.
There will be only one round tonight. The second and third rounds are scheduled for Friday, beginning at 6:30 p.m. with seven minutes allotted per pick in the second round and five minutes allowed in the third. The final four rounds are slated to begin at noon Saturday with four minutes between selections.
As it stands now, Indianapolis does not have a second-round pick. It was traded to Miami last fall in exchange for veteran cornerback Vontae Davis. But second-year general manager Ryan Grigson has nut ruled out the possibility of trading down from the first round if the Colts aren’t satisfied with the players available. -
Direction clear for Colts in 2013 draft
The Indianapolis Colts head into the 2013 NFL Draft with some definite plans.
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Colts veteran among those excited to see Luck's growth in 2013-14
Veteran defensive end Cory Redding is a big fan — literally and figuratively — of Indianapolis Colts second-year quarterback Andrew Luck.
Redding, who has become one of the Colts’ lockerroom leaders after just one season with the team, thinks he has some reasonable expectations of Indianapolis’ former No. 1 draft pick. -
Heyward-Bey feeling fortunate to hook up with Luck
Add one more player to the list of veteran free agents signed by the Indianapolis Colts this offseason.
Former Oakland Raiders wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey agreed to a a deal with the Colts late Monday evening. Bey, who played collegiately at Maryland, was the seventh player selected in the first round of the 2009 National Football League draft. -
Colts sign nose tackle
Another day, more player signings for the Indianapolis Colts.
Nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin agreed to terms with the Colts on Tuesday evening and officially signed with the team Wednesday. Franklin (6-1, 315) is a 10-year NFL veteran with stops in Baltimore (2003-06), San Francisco (2007-10), New Orleans (2011) and San Diego (2012). -
Colts sign Matt Hasselbeck to back up Luck
The Indianapolis Colts’ roster moves just keep coming.
While the Colts haven’t yet added that big-name wide receiver that team owner Jim Irsay hinted at in tweets over the weekend, Indianapolis has addressed one area on offense.
Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck had agreed Monday night to be the Colts’ primary back-up to second-year starter Andrew Luck. He officially signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the team Tuesday morning.
“We are very pleased to announce the signing of Matt Hasselbeck,” general manager Ryan Grigson said in a prepared statement. “His body of work, intangibles, and extensive league experience speak for themselves. Those factors, plus his familiarity with our offensive scheme, will make him a great asset to our team and its vision as we move forward.” -
Colts likely done signing free agents, for now
With the possible exception of adding a few lesser-priced players, the Indianapolis Colts’ big-time foray into the veteran free-agent marketplace is pretty much done.
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Landry, Jean Francois join Colts defensive unit
After adding five veteran free agent players to the Indianapolis Colts roster on Tuesday, general manager Ryan Grigson plucked two more plums late Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon.
New York Jets safety LaRon Landry and San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois both signed contracts with the Colts. Landry, a strong safety who appears to be a bigger version of former Indianapolis Pro Bowler Bob Sanders, and the versatile Jean-Francois are expected to make immediate impacts on the Colts’ defensive unit. -
Colts introduce free-agent signees
What the Indianapolis Colts accomplished last season — posting an 11-5 record and earning an AFC wild-card berth with a young team plus having that kind of success without its head coach on the sidelines for 12 games — didn’t go unnoticed by players around the NFL.
That was especially true for the five veteran free agents who were added to the Colts’ roster Tuesday. Offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus (Detroit), cornerback Greg Toler (Arizona), outside linebacker Erik Walden (Green Bay), offensive guard Donald Thomas (New England) and linebacker Lawrence Sidbury (Atlanta) admitted as much Wednesday.
“I felt like this would be the best fit for me at this point in my career. I really liked what I saw was happening with the program here and the way things have taken shape. I feel like we have a really great team here and it’s on the rise. I really wanted to be a part of that,” Thomas said during a teleconference interview with the Colts’ media. -
Colts sign five free agents, filling needs at offensive line, cornerback
The Indianapolis Colts were a busy team on the opening day of the National Football League’s veteran free agent market, which got underway at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
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Jeff Saturday retires as a Colt
An Indianapolis Colt for life. Pencil in Jeff Saturday for that honor.
The 14-year veteran center in the NFL put an official stamp on a career Thursday that began in Baltimore in 1998 and ended in Green Bay in 2012. But it was those 13 seasons in between — from 1999 to 2011 in which he played for Indianapolis — when Saturday earned his greatest rewards. -
Saturday thrilled to retire as a Colt
The 14-year veteran center in the National Football League put an official stamp on a career Thursday that began in Baltimore in 1998 and ended in Green Bay in 2012. But it was those 13 seasons in-between — from 1999 to 2011 in which he played for Indianapolis — that Saturday earned his greatest rewards.
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Saturday to retire as Colt on Thursday
Former Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday will make his retirement from the National Football League official on Thursday.
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Indianapolis franchises punter McAfee
A week ago, Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano said it was a priority that the team retain the services of punter Pat McAfee.
McAfee, an unrestricted free agent who’s contract is due to expire March 12, was designated as the Colts’ franchise player Friday. The move allows Indianapolis extra time to work out a long-term deal for the team’s special-teams ace.
“He’s huge. He’s a major priority in free agency. Obviously, we’ve reached out and are working to get Pat re-signed,” Pagano said during the National Football Scouting Combine. “We saw what he did for us last year. He’s a great weapon, not only kickoffs and touchbacks. -
Colts GM enjoying time at combine
Indianapolis Colts second-year general manager Ryan Grigson makes no bones about it. He enjoys watching prospective football players strut their stuff.
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Colts keeping eye on large crop of talented linemen in NFL Draft
According to most National Football League draft observers, this year’s crop of prospects is deep with quality offensive and defensive linemen.
Among the offensive line candidates who have been showcasing their talents at the National Football Scouting Combine, which began in earnest Thursday and wraps up on Tuesday, the spotlight has been on the offensive tackles. Offensive left tackles in particular. -
Colts' Pagano back to full work schedule at combine
Back and ready to go.
That’s the attitude Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano is taking during the National Football Scouting Combine, which completed its second day of operations Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium. During a wide-ranging press conference at the combine, Pagano confirmed that he is back to a full work regimen after missing 12 games last fall as he battled a rare form of leukemia.
After undergoing cancer treatments that featured heavy doses of chemotherapy, the second-year head coach was able to return to the sidelines for Indianapolis’ final regular-season home game against Houston and for the team’s AFC wild-card matchup with eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore. -
Colts looking forward to different approach to draft in 2013
A year ago, the Indianapolis Colts had the first overall pick in the 2012 National Football League draft.
It was a foregone conclusion that the Colts would select former Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the selection. While Indianapolis front office and player personnel officials certainly had to do their due diligence in preparing for the draft, the Colts find themselves this year in a bit different situation.
The team will have the 24th overall pick in the first round, which is a double-edged sword. Indianapolis picks lower in the round due to a successful season. But the pool of available can’t-miss talent isn’t quite as plentiful as drafting earlier in the round. -
Former Pro Bowl selection Freeney won't return to Colts
The news coming out of the Indianapolis Colts headquarters Friday afternoon was not totally unexpected. Team officials have confirmed that two veteran players – former Pro Bowl defensive end/outside linebacker Dwight Freeney and wide receiver Austin Collie — will not be returning for the 2013 season.
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Colts’ new offensive coordinator will offer variety
Quarterback Andrew Luck running the Pistol offense? Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton lining up in the Wildcat?
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Colts moving on to the off season
Moving on. That’s the immediate plans for the Indianapolis Colts as they head into the off season.
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Baltimore ends Indy’s playoff run early
The Baltimore Ravens want one long final ride for Ray Lewis. Having disposed of Andrew Luck and the Colts, they now face a more imposing challenge.
Next up, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. -
Switching sides: Colts-Ravens matchup includes old friends on new teams
Just as Baltimore Ravens players and coaches will be seeing some old friends returning to M&T Bank Stadium today, several Indianapolis Colts veterans will also have an opportunity to renew acquaintances with a familiar face.
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Pagano prepares Colts for tough crowd in Baltimore
As a former resident of Baltimore, Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano knows all about the hard feelings that still run strong about the move of the Colts franchise to Indianapolis in 1984.
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