On the first day of the free agent signing period, Ryan Grigson and the Indianapolis Colts front office wasted no time addressing needs on both sides of the ball.
The Colts made a big “first day” move to solidify their horribly inconsistent and oft injury maligned, 22nd ranked running game, with the signing of former San Francisco 49ers RB, Frank Gore. In ten years with the 49ers, Gore has rushed for 11, 073 Yds and 64 TDs. With 1,106 Yds from this past season, Gore had more than twice as many rushing yards as Colts leading rusher, Trent Richardson. If Gore gets the Colts’ rushing attack firing on all cylinders, it will make Andrew Luck and the passing attack even more dangerous. Who am I kidding? It’ll be a bloodbath.
They also signed former Philadelphia Eagles OLB, Trent Cole, to bolster a defense that lacked a dominant pass rusher this past season. During his ten seasons with the Eagles, Cole tallied 569 tackles, 85.5 sacks, and 19 forced fumbles. Coles numbers, when compared to those compiled by Colts OLB, Robert Mathis, in his first ten years, are very similar. If Mathis can return to form in 2015, lining Cole up on the opposite side could create a nightmare pass rush scenario for the tackles on passing downs.
The defense will also welcome, former St. Louis Rams DT, Kendall Langford. With the signing of Langford, the defensive line doesn’t just get a wide body, but a tall one as well. At 6′ 6″ and 313 lbs, he will make a formidable presence as he will likely slide down to the DE spot.
Former Eagles G, Todd Herremans, has also been signed to help solidify an offensive line that has been in flux the last couple of seasons due to injuries.
Strong Safety, Mike Adams is returning to the Colts after having a career year during which he racked up 87 tackles, 11 PDef, 5 Int, 2 FF, and he was also selected to the Pro-Bowl. All this and he’s 34 years old too…maybe this year he’ll have 8 Int and a TD.
On a side note, former Houston Texans WR, Andre Johnson, traveled to Indianapolis with Gore on Tuesday, and may be on Indy’s radar as another weapon for Luck to utilize in the passing game.
This is just the first day of free agency, so fans should be ready for some surprises with respect to new acquisitions and players that are re-signed…or not re-signed for that matter.