Breaking: 3 key players Colts are pushing to sign entering 2024 offseason

The Colts have over $66 million in cap space but can still open up even more room by releasing a few players.

Coming off a 4-12-1 year, the Indianapolis Colts entered the 2023 NFL season with low expectations and a plethora of unknowns. For all that uncertainty, Indy had a successful bounce-back campaign and set a strong foundation for the future.

Quarterback of the future Anthony Richardson became QB of the present but then went down with a season-ending injury in Week 4. Backup Gardner Minshew was a more-than-worthy replacement, leading the Colts to a 9-8 record and just a few plays away from the team’s first playoff berth since 2020.

Acquisitions are usually the focus once the season ends, but some of the toughest decisions are internal debates over which veteran players to cut to save money. The Colts enter the offseason in a favorable position with over $66 million in cap space but can still open up even more room by releasing a few players and reallocating funds. Here are the top three cut candidates for the Colts this offseason.

DeForest Buckner (Defensive End)

Few defensive linemen have played better football in recent years than DeForest Buckner. A Pro Bowler and All-Pro with the San Francisco 49ers, Buckner has earned one of those honors in three of his four seasons with the Colts and is coming off another great year. Bucker had eight sacks, two forced fumbles, and a touchdown in 2023 as he returned to the Pro Bowl.

But the veteran defensive end turns 30 in a few weeks and is entering the final year of his contract with the Colts. The good news for Indy is that this is a team-friendly deal. DeForest Buckner carries a $22.75 million cap hit for 2024 but the franchise eats just $2.5 million in dead cap if it releases him at any point this offseason. The production is still there, but now is the ideal time for the Colts to release their star defensive end — especially if a contract extension or trade is not forthcoming.

Ryan Kelly (Center)

Ryan Kelly is another talented Colts veteran who is slated to be a free agent in 2025. The Indy center has earned a Pro Bowl nod in four of the last five years and allowed just one sack this past season. But as is the conundrum with many talented players entering the latter stages of their careers, the Colts must decide whether to re-sign the 30-year-old or let him walk.

Kelly carries a cap hit of $14.6 million in the final year of his contract but the Colts would only have $2.2 million in dead cap if the franchise decides to release him this offseason. Kelly could have many productive years to come, but if the Colts decide not to re-sign him, then releasing the Pro Bowl center a year early makes more sense financially.

Mo Alie-Cox (Tight End)

On a team that deployed four tight ends in almost equal usage in 2023, one of those tight ends will earn four times more than any other tight end on the roster in 2024. That high earner is Mo Alie-Cox, a six-year veteran who hauled in just 13 passes for 161 yards in 2023. Alie-Cox was one of four Colts tight ends to start a game in 2023 and he played 38% of offensive snaps on the year — putting him third among this quartet of tight ends.

Yet Alie-Cox has a salary just south of $6 million for 2024 while no other Colts tight end will earn more than $1.5 million. Cox is 30 years old and cutting him at any point in the offseason absolves Indy of every dollar of his 2024 salary. With so much tight end depth, bringing back Mo Alie-Cox at that price point does not make sense.