Breaking: Colts Emerge as Landing Spot for $6.5 million ‘Versatile Safety’ In Proposed Deal

With NFL free agency beginning in two and a half weeks, rumors have begun to heat up that the Indianapolis Colts could make an addition to their secondary this offseason.

On February 23, ESPN’s Aaron Schatz connected the Colts to a few different free agent options at defensive back, including veteran safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

“The Colts need to bring in some other teams’ free agents,” Schatz wrote. “With $59 million in cap space, they have room to spend.”

Schatz proposed the Colts sign Gardner-Johnson to start opposite Nick Cross next season.

Gardner-Johnson, though,, has positional versatility. In addition to safety, he could play slot cornerback, making him a potential replacement for Kenny Moore II, who is a free agent for the Colts this offseason.

SB Nation’s Pride of Detroit’s Erik Schlitt called Gardner-Johnson a “positional versatile talent with Pro Bowl upside.” In 2022, the veteran safety finished tied for the NFL lead with 6 interceptions.

It’s important to note, though, that Schatz did not propose the Colts using Gardner-Johnson as a possible replacement for Moore. The ESPN analyst urged the Colts to re-sign Moore and then also add Gardner-Johnson.

On top of those two moves, Schatz also encouraged the Colts to target an elite cornerback in free agency.

Those three moves will require a lot of money, but Indianapolis has the salary cap space to do it. The NFL announced on February 23 that the league is increasing the cap by a record $30 million for the 2024 season.

Spotrac reported that the Colts now have more than $79 million to spend in free agency. That ranks as the sixth-most among all NFL teams.

Pro Football Network’s Dallas Robinson projected Gardner-Johnson to receive a 1-year contract in the $6-8 million range. Last offseason, he signed a 1-year contract worth $6.5 million with the Detroit Lions.

Gardner-Johnson missed 14 games in 2023 because of a pectoral injury. In five NFL seasons, he’s posted 245 combined tackles, including 20 tackles for loss, and 14 quarterback hits. He’s also recorded 39 pass defenses and 12 interceptions.

Could the Colts land the top tight end prospect in this year’s draft class, who’s even drawn comparisons to former franchise great Dallas Clark?

According to NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, the Indianapolis Colts could have some speculated interest in prized Georgia tight end Brock Bowers early in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft—and even went as far as to compare him to Horseshoe great Dallas Clark:

“There’s only one tight end that fits that bill, and that’s somehow if Brock Bowers gets there,” said Jeremiah in a recent conference call, previewing the upcoming NFL scouting combine regarding the Colts’ possibilities with the 15th overall pick.

“As we’ve gone over the positional stuff, the financial aspect of it, the history, the draft history, even though he’s a top ten player in this draft, I would not be — I would not rule it out that somehow Brock Bowers gets there, and that would be ironic because I compared him to Kittle, but he reminds me of Kittle like in a Dallas Clark body a little bit. Similar in terms of how you would use Dallas Clark and move him and do all those different things. Kind of like if Kittle and Dallas Clark had a baby, it would be Brock Bowers. It would be a fun there with the Colts.”

In Jeremiah’s initial mock draft, he actually projected Bowers to the Colts midway through the first round, but since changed that selection to Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins.

While the Colts have some adequate receiving options at the tight end position, including Jelani Woods (if he’s fully recovered from his hamstring injuries) and second-year pro Will Mallory, they could withstand to add an elite playmaker at the position—and really in general, on the offensive side of the football collectively.

Bowers is widely regarded as the top prospect at the tight end position this year, and one of the best to come out in recent memory.

He’s coming off another standout season for the Bulldogs in which he caught 56 receptions for 714 receiving yards (12.8 ypr. avg.) and 6 touchdown receptions during 10 starts—earning unanimous All-American First Team honors and the John Mackey Award (the latter for a consecutive season).

Not only would he add another elite and explosive weapon for second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson, but it would be fun to see how Colts head coach Shane Steichen could use his dynamic receiving ability within his offense across the middle of the field and deep—even adding a future interesting wrinkles here and there.

Plus, the comparison to former Pro Bowl tight end Dallas Clark, who trails only John Mackey himself in Colts franchise history among tight ends in receiving yards and touchdown receptions is quite the high praise. Clark, the former first round pick out of Iowa, and Colts legendary quarterback Peyton Manning’s sure-handed security blanket is the greatest tight end in Indianapolis franchise history—and even did it completely gloveless.

Clark was one of the early modern day prototypes of what the tight end position has ultimately become as a big bodied slot target that’s much more receiver, than blocker, and he was an elite athlete and one of the top receiving targets for Manning in Indy.

As for Bowers, if he’s comparable to Clark at the pro level and ends up in Indianapolis as a byproduct of the middle first round, it’ll have been a home run for Chris Ballard’s Colts.