The 2025 Colts Offensive Line

[sherck]

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish

As for the salary cap implications. We are in a difficult situation for 2026.

I would not get too hung up on cap implications.

I know that Ballard has been very concerned with the cap through his time as GM thus far....however:

A. It appears that he thinks the time is now. Trading two 1st round picks for a blue chip player at the trade deadline is SO FAR outside Ballard's normal MO that you know something is up.

B. Ballard has seen what the league is doing with void years most prominently done by the Eagles. He knows that the league has figured out how to push money into the future in a way that the piper will not come due for upwards of a decade. In the old days before void years, the piper came due in 3-6 years. Now, it is a lot longer.

C. If he believes the window is open, and evidence shows that he does believe that with the Sauce trade, then I think he has an owner in CIG that will allow him to manipulate the cap however he needs to in order to keep the "core" of the team in place for a run now over the next couple of years.

We will wait and see but when I look at our future cap and player contracts, I see zero reason to believe that we cannot retain whoever we want and sign just about whoever we want in the next 2-4 year window. The only real limitation is the amount of cash CIG has to hand out in up front bonuses and with selling Jim's collection....

At some point in the future, there will be a reckoning but if you have a SB ring or two, that is the price you pay.

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by sherck

I would not get too hung up on cap implications.

I know that Ballard has been very concerned with the cap through his time as GM thus far....however:

A. It appears that he thinks the time is now. Trading two 1st round picks for a blue chip player at the trade deadline is SO FAR outside Ballard's normal MO that you know something is up.

B. Ballard has seen what the league is doing with void years most prominently done by the Eagles. He knows that the league has figured out how to push money into the future in a way that the piper will not come due for upwards of a decade. In the old days before void years, the piper came due in 3-6 years. Now, it is a lot longer.

C. If he believes the window is open, and evidence shows that he does believe that with the Sauce trade, then I think he has an owner in CIG that will allow him to manipulate the cap however he needs to in order to keep the "core" of the team in place for a run now over the next couple of years.

We will wait and see but when I look at our future cap and player contracts, I see zero reason to believe that we cannot retain whoever we want and sign just about whoever we want in the next 2-4 year window. The only real limitation is the amount of cash CIG has to hand out in up front bonuses and with selling Jim's collection....

At some point in the future, there will be a reckoning but if you have a SB ring or two, that is the price you pay.

The Over the Cap website has a fun and informative tool they call the cap calculator that allows you to manage every aspect of the cap, including resigning internal free agents, signing external free agents, trading players, and renegotiating and restructuring existing contracts.

I've run several scenarios on the calculator where market value extensions are given to Jones, Smith, Pierce, and Cross and still have room to bring in pretty much any free agent the team might want on a market value deal, so I know it's possible.

[YDFL Commish]

Originally Posted by sherck

I would not get too hung up on cap implications.

I know that Ballard has been very concerned with the cap through his time as GM thus far....however:

A. It appears that he thinks the time is now. Trading two 1st round picks for a blue chip player at the trade deadline is SO FAR outside Ballard's normal MO that you know something is up.

B. Ballard has seen what the league is doing with void years most prominently done by the Eagles. He knows that the league has figured out how to push money into the future in a way that the piper will not come due for upwards of a decade. In the old days before void years, the piper came due in 3-6 years. Now, it is a lot longer.

C. If he believes the window is open, and evidence shows that he does believe that with the Sauce trade, then I think he has an owner in CIG that will allow him to manipulate the cap however he needs to in order to keep the "core" of the team in place for a run now over the next couple of years.

We will wait and see but when I look at our future cap and player contracts, I see zero reason to believe that we cannot retain whoever we want and sign just about whoever we want in the next 2-4 year window. The only real limitation is the amount of cash CIG has to hand out in up front bonuses and with selling Jim's collection....

At some point in the future, there will be a reckoning but if you have a SB ring or two, that is the price you pay.

I hope things work out that way. I guess we shall see.