I am very down on JT. He shit the bed the last half of the season when we needed him the most. My biggest bitch isn't his decrease in running-it can happen and is dependent on line play etc. The first half of the season he was pass blocking like Edge used to. A stud. It disappeared as the season went on, to me that is totally on him. Maybe I read to much into this but to me it shows he isn't dog enough when things are going bad. He is a good running back in a league where good running backs count for very little. He is one of the 'leaders' on a team that has had an epic collapse. We could spend his money more wisely elsewhere on a more complete back who can block and run better pass routes more consistently.

pierce I think you need to bring back.


Franklin has to go


I think Buck comes back if he can get healthy


I would like to have cross back but paying 2 safeties may be tough. not sure I would do it. depends on the contract


can we trade Pittman? maybe. I would probably keep him

let Smith walk


I think Jones has to come back and I imagine we can do that on a reasonable contract.

not a lot of money to work with and we have to fix the pass rush. not sure how that is going to happen.

I think it starts like this:

"Hello, hello, is this Chris"

"Yes, this is Chris, I am busy in the weight room flexing in my too tight sport coat and I have a hat try on session immediately after, and then I am flying to the Maldives for 3 months, so I don't have a lot of time- so hurry up, why have you called me?"

"Hi Chris, it's, Carlie. I had security break into your office, they retrieved the pics. For years you have fucking held that shit over our heads forcing us to keep you employed, but no longer- you fucking suck and you are fired".

There are a lot of teams that get far less sacks than the Colts. 49ers being the lowest with 19. We are middle of the pack at 39


https://www.nfl.com/stats/team-stats...s/2025/reg/all

o


And if the great DeForest Buckner does call it a career as Bert Jones did after he broke a bone in his neck in the strike-shortened 1982 season, I would be OK with his decision to retire ...... I'm just saying that I don't think that he wants to retire, as he seemed eager to get back to playing in the 49ers game in spite of the fact that he was clearly not 100% healed.

o

Puck, it is the inability to get pressure or sacks at critical times in the game. We scheme sacs because we have no alpha rusher. That is harder to do against good focused offensive lines. And yes, like everything else, we are middling at this.

By the by, Al Quadin Muhammad has 11 sacks for Detroit this season.

Never thought I’d see the day I’d be pining for the return of Al Quadin Muhammad.

I am moving on from Jones, and going with Richardson, both injury prone, but one is a hell of a lot cheaper than the other. Time for the alleged genius that is Steichen to actually prove how good he is and scheme up an offense that fits Richardson's skill set.

Pierce fits the skill set perfectly with what Richardson can do, and is a must resign, but then needs to be our true No. 1 receiver, who is targeted 8-10 times a game. The 2nd receiver on this team next year needs to be Warren, he needs to be nearing a 100 receptions. I am also fine with cutting Pittman in this scenario and allowing Downs to also flourish. We have the weapons in the pass catching department already. I like Dulin as well, Coleman Owen could also turn into something given a chance.

JT is absolutely a stud, no issues from me, is he a perfect 3 down back, nah, but he is still effing great. Giddens was a huge disappointment, Goodson i don't care one way or the other, same with Abdullah, he played well enough in spot duty, but no huge loss if he wasn't on the roster.

TE's, Warren will improve, and i am happy enough with the depth, not sure i want to mess too much with this.

Offensive line, has actually held up pretty well even with all of the injuries. The starting 5 were one of the top units in the NFL. Having seen Travis play the last few weeks, i am ok with Braden Smith moving on, or signing a low team friendly deal. We need to invest in the draft for a backup interior guy, Tucker isn't good enough.

I am surprised at the love shown here for Ebukam, he has done very little this year. I would clear the decks regards the DE's, Paye, Ebukam and Lewis are all massively overpaid for what they produced this year and i would be moving on from all of them. Latu and JT are good young guys to work with.

The backup interior guys I have been pleasantly surprised with and have no problem with standing pat here. Stewart and Buck have been their usual selves, hopefully they are both back, but we can help them by reducing the number of snaps they have to play next year.

Our LB's are garbage as every down backs. Pratt is worth his money this year as an early down guy, but Franklin makes some splash plays and then whiffs on the next tackle to allow the 3rd and 13 play to be a success for the offense! Everyone else are just scrubs, maybe Carlies has something to work with, but i am not sure Lou agrees.

The defense backs if they are healthy are some of the best in the NFL. Gardner, Ward, Bynum and Cross played well this year. Cross is a player i would like to resign, but i am not sure if he hasn't priced himself out of a contract with the Colts.

You can tag him as a negotiation tool to ensure he doesn't get away and work out an extension. I know it looks like the Colts only have about $50 million of cap space right now, but it's pretty simple to get that well above $100 million without tanking 2027 or 2028 cap space. If the Colts think Jones is the answer, they shouldn't let him get away.

What i would do with each player for next year.

QB's
Jones, move on
Richardson, keep
Leonard, keep
Rivers, move on

RB's
Taylor, keep
Giddens, keep
Abdullah, move on
Goodson, move on

TE's
Warren, keep
Alie-Cox, move on
Ogletree, keep
Mallory, keep

WR's
Pittman, move on
Pierce, keep
Downs, keep
Dulin, keep,
Gould, keep
Treadwell, move on
Owen, keep

OLine
Smith, move on
Raimann, keep
Freeland, keep
Travis, keep
Tenuta, keep
Nelson, keep
Goncalves, keep
Bortolini, keep
Pinter, keep

DE's
Latu, keep
Ebukam, move on
Lewis, move on
Paye, move on
Tuimoloau, keep
Nchami, keep

DT's
Stewart, keep
Bucknor, keep
Gallimore, keep
Adebawore, keep
Johnson, move on
Wormley, move on
Smith, keep

LB's
Pratt, keep
Franklin, move on
Olubi, move on
Ajiake, keep
Carlies, keep
Johnson, move on

CB's
Gardner, keep
Ward, keep
Moore, keep
Hilton, keep
Blackmon, keep
Edwards, keep
Jones, move on
Mitchell, move on
Lammons, keep
Walley, keep

Safety
Wohler, keep
Scott, keep
Bynum, keep
Cross, keep
Lowery, keep
Odum, move on
Thomas, move on

Special Teams
Rhodes, keep
Sanchez, keep
Grupe, keep
Shrader, keep


So from that list i only have 48 guys left. I have too many CB's for the final cutdown, same with both kickers at the moment.

Based on my list, we need a coverage LBer or two as an absolute priority, maybe Hunter Woehler is one of those guys? And at least a couple of DE's, ideally a splash starter, but that is unlikely with the lack of money/draft capital we don't have! An interior offensive lineman, and a tackle to add depth alongside Freeland and Tenuta, depth at RB, and also a veteran backup QB. No idea what Kyler Murray might be expecting if he is cut, he is probably too expensive anyway.

I do think that there is quite a lot of young talent on this roster. A true pass rusher, alongside both Ward and Gardner would make the defense something to be frightened of.