Part two of this mini-series looks at how the Indianapolis Colts can free up cap space via contract extensions and restructures. Additionally, this article will project internal and external free agency signings. Please look at part one for a more detailed explanation of the type of language I will be using when describing contracts and the estimated contract extensions for Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce. Indianapolis needs to put pen to paper with Jones before the July 15th deadline, or else it will have him play at a $37.833m cap hit. A cap hit that large would prove to be a massive roadblock for the Colts to become cap compliant by the start of the regular season, assuming they intend to improve the rest of their roster.
In a year, Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen know wins and results are expected, Indianapolis should operate more aggressively than it has in the past. The Colts have traditionally not thrown a lot of cash around or backloaded contracts that would put them in a bind in future years. However, Ballard and Co. must act as if tomorrow isn’t promised, as Carlie Irsay-Gordon has assured them it isn’t. The Colts also have several key free agents coming off the books in 2027, meaning if Indy chose to backload some contracts to save some cap space up front, they could. As it currently stands, the Colts are looking at nearly 190 million in cap space next year, according to Over the Cap.
With that in mind, let’s look at how the Colts could operate in free agency.
Restructures/Extensions
The first restructure is necessary to ensure a beloved Colt stays on the roster for at least 2026. Michael Pittman Jr. won’t play at his current twenty-nine-million-dollar cap hit, so a restructure and new extension would lower his 2026 cap hit significantly. I converted twelve million of Pittman’s 2026 base salary to a signing bonus, making his ’26 cap hit twenty million, and saving the Colts nine million on the cap. Pittman also receives a two-year extension worth thirty-six million in new money and a ten-million-dollar base in 2027, three million of which is guaranteed.
Pittman could very well ask for more guarantees, but if this is the alternative to being cut, I think he’d be satisfied with the opportunity to prove himself and get a raise the following year. The Colts could also move on after this year if Pittman continues to struggle with injuries and declining production, although the 2028 off-season would be the cleanest time to part ways to avoid the bulk of the dead money.
The two-million-dollar roster bonuses offer some incentive and could certainly be bumped up to further entice Pittman. The final two million dollars of guarantees are injury vested.
The Colts also extend Quenton Nelson to another market-setting contract that beats out Trey Smith’s recent deal with the Chiefs:
Indianapolis converts eight and a half million of Nelson’s ’26 base salary to a signing bonus and lowers his cap number by six point four million dollars. Nelson’s extension comes out to twenty-four million APY and fifty-four guaranteed total. The Colts’ guard sees seventy-five percent of his contract guaranteed as compared to Smith’s seventy-four and a half percent, while also receiving fifty percent of the contract at signing, compared to Smith’s forty-nine point seven percent. Big Q gets a new deal that helps the Colts out in the short term, while also ensuring the future Hall of Famer spends the duration of his prime in Indianapolis.
Up to this point, all the trades, cuts, restructures, and extensions, not including the Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce extensions, the Colts would be up to sixty point one million dollars in cap space. After factoring in their projected contracts from part one, the Colts would be at thirty-three and a half million dollars in cap space. It’s important to note that this is an estimation based on the previous projected contracts. The Colts are currently slightly over the cap after signing Blake Grupe, but still could make room for the following signings if they extend the players mentioned (do not technically have to be cap compliant until Wednesday).
Moreover, remember that only the top fifty-one salaried players on the roster are counted towards the cap, meaning that signing a free agent to the vet minimum only increases the cap by a minimal amount. The cap hit, therefore, is the difference between the vet minimum contract and the fifty-first highest cap amount on the roster, which theoretically could be zero.
Internal Free Agent Re-Signings
- Germaine Pratt (1yr 3.25mm) Cap hit- $2.75 mm
- Neville Gallimore (1yr 2.3mm) Cap hit- $2.0 mm
- Danny Pinter (1yr 1.75mm) Cap hit- $1.6 mm
- Mo Alie-Cox (1yr 2.4mm) Cap hit- $1.9 mm
Danny Pinter and Mo Alie-Cox get a slight pay bump from the Colts and their 2025 salaries to be kept in the fold as important depth. Neville Gallimore could end up making more than this if savvy pro personnel departments foresee more production from him in an increased role. This contract is almost a one-hundred percent increase from the near veteran minimum contract Chris Ballard inked him to last year, so maybe Gallimore would elect to stay in Indy with a few hundred thousand dollars of incentives to sweeten the deal and lower the cap hit a tad.
Finally, the Germaine Pratt deal comes in at over a million less than his deal with the Raiders last season, but he can earn up to three point two five million with incentives. Lou Anarumo will want some familiarity in the linebacker room after Zaire Franklin was traded to Green Bay. Pratt could replace Franklin as the green dot since proving he was still a more than capable player in Indianapolis last season.
A linebacker who understands the checks, alignments, play calling, offensive formational identifiers, and terminology is important, especially in Lou’s system. I think the Colts’ defense would have a greater chance of hitting the ground running if Germaine Pratt assists in breaking in some of the new acquisitions in training camp. Anarumo’s defense works best when there is some level of familiarity between the green dot Mike and the play caller. The Colts can then pair Pratt with a younger, more athletic running mate.
After re-signing those veterans, the Colts will have used a total of four point two five million dollars of cap space, when subtracting a million from the base minimum they are adding onto.
- Tyler Goodson- Cap hit- $1.3 mm
- Blake Grupe- Cap hit- $1.3 mm
- Luke Tenuta- Cap hit- $1.1 mm
- Segun Olubi- Cap hit- N/A
- Cameron Mitchell- N/A
- DJ Montgomery- N/A
The rest of these guys are restricted free agents who should sign close to minimum deals to compete for roster spots. Blake Grupe just signed at a price near this, while Tyler Goodson and Luke Tenuta should come back on cheap deals close to the veteran minimum. In total, with the minimum fifty-first roster spot being at one million dollars, the total cap hit from these re-signings is point seven million.
The total cap hit for re-signing these ancillary internal pieces is four point nine five million dollars, leaving the Colts with twenty-eight point six five million dollars going into free agency.
Outside Free Agent Signings
- Devin Bush- (3yr 40mm) Cap hit- $7mm
- Joseph Ossai (3yr 39mm) Cap hit- $9.5mm
- DJ Wonnum- (1yr 5mm) Cap hit- $5 mm
- Kyle Dugger (1yr 6.5 mm) Cap hit- $6 mm
- Evan Neal- (1yr 4.3mm) Cap hit- $4 mm
- Tycen Anderson (1yr 2.75 mm)- Cap hit $2.45 mm
Tycen Anderson strikes me as an under-the-radar, important signing if the Colts were able to land him. Anderson was a fifth-round pick out of Toledo in 2022 and played for three years under Lou Anarumo in Cincinnati. A bit of research shows the Bengals would like to have him back, but if the Colts offered similar money and an expansion of role similar to Rodney Thomas, could Anderson be enticed to reunite with his former defensive coordinator? The former Toledo Rocket saw sixty-four defensive snaps, most coming at free safety, in 2025. Meanwhile, Rodney Thomas played one hundred fifty snaps in 2025. Anderson is an ace special teamer who has never gotten serious run on the defensive side of the ball. This seems like a Chris Ballard signing.
Evan Neal was drafted by the Giants in 2022 when Tony Sparano Jr. was an assistant offensive line coach in New York. Neal hasn’t lived up to his first-round pedigree, but if I were him, I’d look no further than Indianapolis for an offensive line coach who has shown a propensity for developing talent of all types. Furthermore, Neal has seen how former teammate Daniel Jones has thrived in an environment with a dimmer spotlight. Matt Goncalves has seen success converting from college tackle to guard with a similar body type to Neal. All of these factors contribute to the former top ten pick signing a one-year flyer to provide some competition and depth at the guard spots. The former Alabama tackle would compete with Dalton Tucker, Josh Sills, and Bill Murray (as well as incoming draft picks) in camp.
Kyle Dugger comes in to compete with Hunter Wohler to replace Nick Cross. Dugger has always been a specialty player known for his versatility and ability to moonlight as a linebacker. The Colts played Nick Cross all over the box under Lou Anarumo, where Dugger excels. He’s coming off several down years, but when utilized correctly, the former Patriot draftee could still be a productive piece for the Colts. This is another value signing that acts as a floor-setting move, while the Colts pursue other, larger pieces in their front seven.
DJ Wonnum is an intriguing depth edge rusher who is coming off a disappointing year with the Panthers. He was asked to do a lot of the dirty work in Ejiro Evero’s defense, which ultimately led to less sack production than he had previously obtained. A bigger end who previously played for Brian Flores, Wonnum checks a lot of boxes for Lou. If he can get back to his 2023 level of play, when he unfortunately tore his quad, the Colts would strike gold, as Wonnum put together eight sacks in both 2021 and 2023.
Joseph Ossai fits the bill of a young edge rusher worth betting on to continue ascending. Ossai played under Lou during the first four years of his career. Meanwhile, he showed signs of a breakout this year, recording a career high of forty-three pressures. His contract could surprise some people who don’t value his upside, but I expect the Colts to sign Ossai to a healthy deal as he enters his age twenty-six season. The contract is based on Dayo Odeyingbo’s with the Bears, but with less AAV. The guarantee structure is similar as well.
The former Bengal is a stout run defender who continues to show progress in the pass-rushing department and could finally break out in Indianapolis after five sack seasons in 2024 and 2025. Additionally, I like his fit in the new edge room with him, Latu, Tuimoloau, and Wonnum. With one more addition in the draft to round the group out, the Colts will have completely reshaped their edge rushers into a young, high-upside group for Lou Anarumo and Marion Hobby in 2026.
Finally, my biggest outside free agent signing is Devin Bush. There’s a chance the Colts may not even look at the former first-rounder due to a legal issue he recently endured. However, he was found not guilty on all charges and completely acquitted of any wrongdoing by a judge. The reason I targeted Bush was because of the history of linebackers taking several years to reach peak production. Bush has always had fabulous talent, and has now shown massive steps towards realizing the potential that saw him drafted tenth overall by the Steelers in 2019. The former Michigan Wolverine collected career highs across the board for Jim Schwartz in 2025, including three interceptions. Always on the smaller side of linebackers, Bush would fill in quite nicely next to Germaine Pratt at the WILL in Lou Anarumo’s defense.
To account for the volatility of Bush’s career and the linebacker position in general, I structured Devin Bush’s contract almost exactly like Patrick Queen, but with a heavier incentive load. The structure allows the Colts to cut bait after 2026 with minimal dead cap, but also gives Bush nearly the same number in guarantees as Queen, if he hits his likely to be earned incentives. Roster bonuses in 2027 and 2028 also incentivize Bush to continue ascending as one of the league’s top rated young linebackers, while hopefully providing the Colts with quality play at the position again.
After signing and structuring these contracts, the Colts end up with around half a million dollars remaining in cap space heading into the draft. A few cuts can be made that free up plenty of space to sign the draft class, which comes in around two point two million dollars in cap. Those will be detailed in part three, along with a mock draft complete with film on the prospects selected. Finally, I will detail my final fifty-three-man roster and depth chart for the 2026 Indianapolis Colts.
Look out for part three as we approach the draft!
More from The Blue Stable:
High Urgency: A Complete Projection of the Colts Critical Offseason Part 1
