10/13 indystar
 

Zaire Franklin thinks he's the best linebacker in the NFL. His coaches have learned not to limit his dreams.
Nate Atkins
Indianapolis Star


INDIANAPOLIS − Derrick Henry took the handoff on 4th-and-1, entered the hole and felt a thud.

Then the most physical running back in the NFL fell backward.

On the other end was Zaire Franklin, who was playing off DeForest Buckner's hip to create a tag-team effort to stop the Titan short of the sticks.

Franklin just did what he's always doing these days. He leads the NFL with 69 tackles through just five weeks. He is outpacing last year's breakout, when he set a Colts franchise tackle record with 167. At this rate, he'll top 100 by Halloween.


He's on pace to finish with 235 tackles, which would set the NFL's single-season record by more than 35.

"I think I'm the best linebacker in the league," he said.


It's a high bar to chase in a league with names like Fred Warner, LaVonte David, Roquan Smith and Matt Milano, who have longer track records and accolades such as Pro Bowl and All-Pro recognitions. Franklin is just five games into his second season as a full-time starter, even though he's a sixth-year player.

But the fact that he can make the claim speaks to one precipitous rise.

Franklin was a seventh-round pick out of Syracuse in the 2018 draft. He was the second linebacker the Colts drafted in that round alone, behind Matt Adams. A total of 24 different stand-up linebackers went ahead of him that year.


"I always understood that as a seventh-round guy, it could have been over any year," Franklin said. "Any year I could have been on the circuit, from team to team in workouts, staying in hotels. In the back of my mind, I was prepared for that."

Franklin connected early with then-Colts special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone and found a niche. By his second season, he was playing 80% of the special teams snaps, but he was a linebacker in the base defense sparingly, never topping 18% of snaps played in any of his first four seasons.

"When you've got other factors working against you, it's tough," Franklin said. "You just have to keep grinding through it.

"The right people always make the right decisions."

Franklin could never break through in Matt Eberflus' defense, which featured an instant star from that 2018 draft in Shaquille Leonard. Franklin was buried beneath Leonard, Anthony Walker and Bobby Okereke in those early seasons.

Franklin became a free agent in the spring of 2022 and planned to look around for the right opportunity. Gus Bradley arrived to coordinate the Colts' defense, and soon his linebackers coach, Richard Smith, was asking about the No. 44 he saw on film.

"They said he was a free agent. I said, 'Free agent? This guy really is a good football player. We can't lose him,'" Smith said.

"He's got all the intangibles you want as a linebacker."


RELATED:Colts LB Shaquille Leonard working back after groin injury, dropping snap count

So the Colts brought Franklin back for three years and $10 million. He was going to continue playing special teams and be the team's third linebacker behind Leonard and Okereke. But then Leonard needed back surgery.

A door was opening, and Franklin burst through, much like he would against Henry in the hole Sunday. Tackle by tackle, he earned a stay and plenty more.

He is now one of the best bargains in the NFL. He is currently the 35th-highest-paid outside linebacker. Last year, Franklin made just $21,437 per tackle. But that deal has allowed him to turn Indianapolis into a long-term home for him, his wife, Khandice; and their 1-year-old son, Kairo.

For an hour Tuesday night, he met with fans and signed autographs at Hoagies and Hops for "Shelice's Angels," a charity he started to provide mentorship in financial literacy named after his late mother and grandmother.

"They taught me to dream without limits," he said.


It helped to find a coaching staff willing to dream with him.

"I told Gus when he came in, 'All I ever ask for is a fresh set of eyes and a clean opportunity,'" Franklin said. "That's all he's ever given me."

Having started his career as a linebackers coach for Derrick Brooks in Tampa Bay, Bradley has always constructed his units from the middle out. At its peak, his 4-3, Cover-3-heavy defense can unleash those players in the middle to become stars like Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright.


And for his past three stops with the Chargers, Raiders and Colts, he's coordinated that position with Smith. The two have 45 combined years as either a linebackers coach or defensive coordinator.

An old-school leader like Franklin has become their vessel. He was ready for a moment nobody knew could ever arrive.

"(Franklin) was a special teams player, he gives his heart and soul to the team and to the special teams," Bradley said. "He’s on defense and he gives to the younger players and he gives to the defense and to this team. So to me, it’s not surprising that he’s having some success come back two-fold because that’s what he does."

Now, they're trying to build one of the most ferocious run defenses in the game. Indianapolis has Buckner and Grover Stewart as a guard-eating inside tandem, plus strong edge setters in Kwity Paye and Samson Ebukam, as well as athletic linebackers in Leonard and E.J. Speed. And Franklin is the man in the middle, averaging 13.8 tackles per game with an average depth of 2.1 yards, according to Sports Info Solutions.

In a year and a half, he's gone from that seventh-round pick buried on the depth chart to receiving post-game handshakes from Aaron Donald, who told him he's a real player.

"If I’m retired 20 years from now hopefully or whenever that time is, I would always say, ‘Hey Z, I’m going to share your story. Is it OK?'" Bradley said.

"Because what a great lesson to teach younger players, right? Just give – give to the team, give to the defense, give to your teammates and it should come back two-fold. He’s a classic example of that.”

JT contract
 

Why Jonathan Taylor's contract should keep him with the Colts through at least 2025
Joel A. Erickson
Indianapolis Star


INDIANAPOLIS — The contract extension Jonathan Taylor signed last Saturday is a fairly straightforward deal, a contract that realistically binds Taylor to Indianapolis for the next three seasons, given the guarantees involved.

Taylor’s three-year extension carries a signing bonus of $10,248,000, $26.5 million in guaranteed money and $42 million in new money, adding the extra on top of what he was already scheduled to earn in 2023, the final year of his rookie contract.

The cap figure for the 2023 season remained the same, although the structure changed.

Taylor was initially scheduled to earn $4.304 million in base salary, carrying a cap figure of $5,126,922. The rest of the cap figure, $813,482, is the final portion of the $3,253,928 signing bonus on his rookie contract. Under NFL rules, a player is paid the entire signing bonus right away, but the salary cap hit is spread out evenly over the years of the contract.


Taylor’s new signing bonus changed some of that math, reducing his base salary this season to $1.742 million and adding a signing bonus charge of $2.562 million to the previous proration, ultimately resulting in the same cap figure this year.

From this point on, the deal is relatively straightforward. Taylor’s signing bonus of $10.248 million and base salary of $7.804 million in 2024 are fully guaranteed, and although $7,152,444 of his base salary in 2025 is guaranteed only for injury at this point, it will ultimately become fully guaranteed if Taylor is on the roster on the fifth day of the 2024 league year, and it would take highly unusual circumstances for Taylor to be off the roster by that point, considering the Colts would lose more than $5 million in salary cap space if they cut the running back by then, in addition to taking a $16 million dead hit.


Like most NFL contracts, the deal has a potential out, although Indianapolis hasn't cut players on big deals before the end of their contracts often under general manager Chris Ballard. If the Colts wanted to release Taylor before the start of the 2026 season, they would save $13 million in cap space and only take a $2.562 million dead hit.

Jonathan Taylor contract

2023


Cap Number: $5,126,992

Base salary: $1.742 million ($785,556 guaranteed)

Workout bonus: $9,440

Signing bonus: $2.562 million

Previous signing bonus: $813,482

2024

Cap Number: $10,876,000

Base salary: $7,804,000, fully guaranteed

Per-game roster bonus: $510,000 ($30,000 per game)

Signing bonus: $2.562 million

2025

Cap Number: $15,562,000

Base salary: $11,980,000 ($7,152,444, guaranteed for injury, fully guaranteed if Taylor’s on roster on the 5th day of the 2024 league year)

Per-game roster bonus: $1.02 million ($60,000 per game)

Signing bonus: $2.562 million

2026

Cap Number: $15,562,000

Base salary: $11,980,000

Per-game roster bonus: $1.02 million ($60,000 per game)

Signing bonus: $2.562 million

10/13 doyle
 

Doyel: Without injured QB Anthony Richardson, Colts can win AFC South with Gardner Minshew
Gregg Doyel
Indianapolis Star

INDIANAPOLIS – The 2023 Indianapolis Colts’ roster says Gardner Minshew II is 6-1, 225 pounds. The roster doesn’t seem to be telling the truth. If Minshew measures 6-1, it’s only when he’s wearing cleats and standing on top of Shane Steichen’s playbook. As for the weight – 225 pounds? Zero chance.

Minshew is surrounded Wednesday by reporters, which makes this a normal Wednesday around here. Chuck Pagano, Frank Reich, Jeff Whatshisname, Steichen, doesn’t matter who’s coaching here – the Colts' starting quarterback speaks with local reporters each Wednesday, and for the foreseeable future that quarterback is Minshew.

So we’ve got him surrounded, but he looks comfortable answering questions. That’s why the Colts got him this offseason, you know. No, not for the news conferences. But because he’s comfortable in this role, starting for an NFL team, or any role really. He signed with the Colts on March 16 with the understanding that they planned to use the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft – six weeks later – on a quarterback they hoped could start as a rookie.


Minshew knew, and Minshew was fine. The only thing he’s been guaranteed since graduating from Brandon (Miss.) High in 2014 is disrespect. He was a two-star recruit, signed by Troy but not given a chance there so he left for a Mississippi junior college. Then to East Carolina, then Washington State. Those were the schools that would take a chance on him, because his measurables weren’t much. He wasn’t 6-1, he wasn’t 225 pounds, and he wasn’t fast either. At the 2019 Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.97 slow, slow seconds.

But Minshew has this leadership you have to see to believe. Ever read "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber? Has that book been banned yet? Mitty is this everyman, unremarkable in most ways. Gardner Mitty, I mean Minshew, is like that but with a twist – a splash of Keanu Reeves circa Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.


It works in the locker room, and everywhere else. Minshew was beloved from 2019-20 in Jacksonville, where he will lead the Colts on Sunday with first place on the line in the AFC South. He’s an NFL success story because of hard work, intelligence, intangibles and leadership.

That combination will have to work here for at least the next four games, maybe the rest of the season. Not trying to be an alarmist about Colts rookie Anthony Richardson, who was placed on Injured Reserve, which means he’ll miss a minimum of four games. While reportedly his window is 4-8 weeks, Steichen wouldn’t expound much Wednesday.


“We’ll see,” Steichen said when asked about the prospect of surgery on the sprained AC joint in Richardson’s throwing shoulder.

“I don’t know that yet,” he said when asked if Richardson could miss the rest of the season.

Here’s what we know: Gardner Minshew II is the Colts’ QB1 for the next four games, maybe the next 12 games, and whatever could come after that. Because the Colts, whose offseason wasn’t much to look at, find themselves with a 3-2 record, tied with the Jaguars for first in the AFC South.

It’s impossible the Colts are in this spot, with or without Anthony Richardson.

It’s also impossible Gardner Minshew is 6-1, 225 pounds.

Can looks be that deceiving?

Colts nailed QB spot in offseason...

Remember how much we hated the Colts’ offseason? Well, maybe not, because to hate something, you have to be moved to a strong emotion. The Colts’ offseason was boring, weird, with one exception:

They nailed the quarterback position.

After treading water for four years with veteran quarterbacks backed by mid-round rookie draft picks, the Colts finally put on their big-boy swimming trunks and dived into the deep end this offseason by drafting Richardson in the first round and signing the best available backup (Minshew) as his mentor and their Plan B.

The signing of Minshew was so exciting – and such a clear signal that Richardson would be their draft pick – I was reduced that day to a mixture of ALL-CAP EXCITEMENT and nonsense gobbledygook. One line from that story, and I quote: gwababa wowow OMG and also: YOWZERS!


Don’t look at me like that.

If only the rest of the Colts’ offseason had been as exciting. They needed cornerbacks, unless they really planned to go with Dallis Flowers and Isaiah Rodgers as their top two outside corners, but the Colts signed none in free agency. They drafted three, though. Maybe Warren Central’s JuJu Brents of Kansas State would pan out in a year or two.

The Colts needed a pass rush, but they doubled down on 2021 draft picks Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo, and signed someone named Samson Ebukam – Ebukam Samson? – in free agency. Whoever he was, he’d played six NFL seasons, usually as a starter, with a season-high of five sacks. Terrific.

As for the offensive line, the Colts were essentially running it back from last season, when last season’s offensive line was terrible.

Add that up, check out their modest additions at receiver – third-round pick Josh Downs and veteran Isaiah McKenzie, the Samson Ebukam of receivers with six years in the NFL and a season-high of 42 catches – and what were the Colts doing? Not much. Biding their time for the 2024 NFL Draft, it looked like.

I’m asking again: Can looks be that deceiving?

... and did well elsewhere too

The Colts can win the AFC South, and that’s without Anthony Richardson playing another snap this season. Here’s to hoping he returns after four games and wins NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year – cheers! – but the Colts need Richardson back for his own development more than they need him to win in 2023.

Each quarterback has played four games this season, with Minshew starting one and finishing three others, and the Colts are 3-1 in those games. The Colts are 2-2 in Richardson’s four games, and lost the only game he started and finished.

No, Minshew is not better than Richardson, but the drop-off isn’t big enough to worry about as it relates to a spot in the 2023 NFL playoffs. Right now the Colts have a shot at the AFC South. Someone has to win the division. Why not the Colts? They’ve already beaten Tennessee and won at Houston, and can take the tiebreaker from Jacksonville’s hands by beating the unpredictable Jaguars on Sunday.

Then again, the Colts have been unpredictable too. Like, who saw 3-2 coming? Beating the Ravens in Baltimore? Snapping a five-game skid against the Titans, even as Richardson was injured in the first half?

This season is happening because the Colts’ offseason has yielded better results than expected, especially on defense where Samson, Paye and Odeyingbo have combined for 7½ sacks, 14 QB hits and nine tackles for loss, giving the Colts excellent play on the defensive exterior to complement stars DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart inside. Linebacker Zaire Franklin is five games into a Pro Bowl invite. Emboldened by the front seven, the young cornerbacks – pressed into action by Rodgers’ suspension and Flowers’ injury – have done well enough.

The Colts offense has received a pleasant boost from running back Zack Moss in Jonathan Taylor’s absence, and Downs has been a solid complement (23 catches in five games) to leading receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (31). And the offensive line, with bulked up second-year pro Bernhard Raimann or 2023 fourth-round draft pick Blake Freeland at left tackle, has been just fine.

Then there’s Minshew. He won’t beat the Jags by himself Sunday – he’s not Anthony Richardson – but he won’t lose it, either. Minshew takes no chances, which doesn’t create a lot of gwababa wowow OMG moments but produces zero head-slappers, either. He’s completing 68.7% of his passes, going 57-for-83 for 553 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Ready for the most Gardner Minshew II stat ever? His career interception rate of 1.476% would be third all-time, if he had the minimum 1,500 career attempts (he has 1,016).

“Gardner does a great job of going in and operating at a high level,” Steichen said Wednesday, “finding completions and moving the ball well. I have a ton of confidence in his abilities.”

So do the Colts. This locker room loves the guy, and you can see why. He’s more than his mustache and mullet, more than his duuuuude persona. Maybe he’s more than 200 pounds, too, though I doubt it. After the media finished surrounding Minshew and he headed for an off-limits part of the locker room, I followed him because I had to know.

Are you really 225 pounds?

“Dude,” he said, and kept walking.

I’m saying you weigh a buck-90.

“Duuuuude,” he said at my guess of 190 pounds.

And then he was gone, without ever answering the question. Not that it matters. Gardner Minshew is a lot like these Colts – more formidable than he looks.

So, Doyel embarrasses himself by being an ass to the current starting QB, and is dumb enough to let the world know. Glad Gardner recognizes that engaging him is a bad idea.

Just an fyi for anyone here, when doyle has a colts related column, I will put it at the end of the daily post. He has his moments, In am not a fan, but it is news when Colts news is hard to come by.

It was suggested that we have one thread for all the Star articles. You could just add them in one thread instead of making a new one every day for Star articles. What do you think?

I appreciate what you do JAFF. I don't read Doyle but myself anymore but like that we do not censure anyone on this site. Belated thanks

Thats what I have been doing on my own. I pay for the subscription so I have access and I share them with this site.

If there is a better way, some one in charge, needs to speak up. I would be careful about how it works. The Indystar might cut me off for you fill in the blank, for sharing.

I appreciate you sharing. I was just wondering if you would be okay with having one thread for all of them instead of making a new one. I am fine with the way you share them, but it was suggested to me to see if you would add them to one existing thread instead of a new one every day. No worries.

I can do that. Its going to get very long. Maybe weekly? If this is what people want, I will start after this weeks game.

I appreciate Jaff posting the articles, but they are such a hard read and Doyel is such a hack. Much more so than Kravitz ever thought of being.

I could read Kravitz. My main beef with him is his insistence that Elway was the GOAT?

I don't care, either way. I was asked if there were a way to create a subforum for them.

As long I can find it and post. I may need a map. Seriously.

Late day entry
 

Michael Pittman on Jonathan Taylor contract: 'Every player can take a page out of his book'
Nate Atkins
Indianapolis Star


INDIANAPOLIS -- Michael Pittman Jr. is happy his All-Pro running back is back in the fold.

Happy, too, to see a player win in this type of contract-year stand-off.

Jonathan Taylor returned last weekend from a four-game absence to sign a three-year, $42 million contract that ranks third among running backs in average annual value. It ended a two-month stand-off between him and the Colts, who eventually reversed course on their plans to not offer him a contract until after the season.

"Going forward, every player can take a page out of his book," Pittman said. "He stood strong on what he felt that he deserved, and both sides ended up happy."




"Going forward, I think players should model that because it ended up working out."

The Colts drafted Pittman and Taylor mere picks apart in the second round in 2020. Both entered contract years this season but were facing different pressures given their positional value and career arcs.

Taylor was expecting an extension from a Colts team that often rewards players entering their contract year. It came right as the running back market was cratering across the league, to the point where stars like Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley took one-year deals just above the franchise tag number of around $10 million.

Indianapolis Colts All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor made his season debut Sunday after inking a three-year contract extension.
After general manager Chris Ballard declined to offer Taylor an extension or a promise to not use the franchise tag, the 2021 NFL rushing champion requested a trade and distanced himself from the team until he saw resolution. He sat out four games while on the Physically Unable to Perform List due to an ankle he had surgically repaired seven months prior.


But that resolution came last week, when the Colts reached out to Taylor as he was eligible for a return and started their first negotiation. It ended in $26.5 million guaranteed on a deal that owner Jim Irsay said came "sooner than I think should have happened," but it brought Taylor back into the fold for now and for the future.

MORE:'Things got off the rails': Colts Jim Irsay on path to Jonathan Taylor's contract extension


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"It just goes to show that you've got to fight for it," Pittman said. "He was willing to go the furthest, further than some other backs who -- I don't want to say gave in, but they didn't stand as strong as he did. They were able to come to a common ground, and that's all that anybody wanted.

"He fought for what he deserved, and I'm proud of him."




Pittman is well-versed in what the position has gone through since his father, Michael Pittman Sr., played running back for 11 years until he retired in 2008. In financial terms, it's the opposite of what has happened at wide receiver, where 13 different players currently have average annual salaries of $20 million or more.

They can come even more expensive on the open market, where demand far exceeds supply in a passing league. Two years ago, Christian Kirk was coming off a 982-yard season with the Cardinals that was statistically similar to each of Pittman's past two seasons with the Colts, and he signed a four-year, $72 million deal from the Jaguars.

That's why Pittman hasn't sweated being in a contract year. At least not yet.

"The way I see it is teams take care of their guys. If you're not one of their guys, you're not one of their guys," Pittman said. "I'm just playing day to day and auditioning for 31 teams and just going out there and making a couple plays. I have a commitment to my teammates."

"The best way to get a job is to do good at your current job. ... I'll probably just wait until the offseason to figure that out."

Michael Pittman Jr. is in a contract year but is focused on playing his best football ahead of free agency.
Pittman is focused on trying to have his best season yet for the Colts, which means topping the 1,082 yards and six touchdowns from 2021 and the 925 yards and four touchdowns from last season. This year, he is averaging 59.4 yards per game, which is firmly between his career average (55.0) and career high (63.6).

He was thrilled to get the chance to build a connection with Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 pick in this year's draft and the most athletic quarterback prospect in NFL history. The two traveled to Miami for an offseason throwing session and also met up in the Indianapolis area for more work on their own.

But he hasn't gotten more than six consecutive quarters with Richardson due to various injuries. Pittman grew concerned in Week 2, and he and Richardson talked about the quarterback's need to protect himself, which means playing differently than the heat-seeking missile that is his No. 1 receiver.

"He was kind of contradicting himself, telling me to protect myself and stop taking hits when he's doing the opposite," Richardson said a couple weeks ago.

But a designed run Sunday ended in Richardson spraining his AC joint, and now he's headed to injured reserve for at least four games. Pittman will play for the foreseeable future with Gardner Minshew, who is his seventh starting quarterback in his four seasons with the team.


"It's been a whirlpool here. Ever since I've been here, it's hard to find consistency," Pittman said.

"I think you can always be better. I think I've put a lot of good stuff on tape. Sometimes it doesn't always find you, but that doesn't mean you're not putting good stuff on tape. There's some plays out there to be made."

He made an average talent team into a super Bowl contender. From his rookie year to 91 when I moved to Indiana I watched every game he played. A smart guy, terrific athlete, Built like a linebacker , fleet of foot, with the best throwing arm in NFL history. He cracked ribs of his own receivers.

Kravitz was a dick. He was right about Elway.

We have so little traffic and posts does it really matter out side of piling on Jaff?

Bert Jones had more arm talent than Elway could ever posses.

Jones played 9 years, Elway played 15.

31 comebacks, 40 game-winning drives See link below

https://www.pro-football-reference.c...layer=ElwaJo00

Its not a knock on Jones, great Colt Qb. Elway could beat a team with his legs or his arm. He was drafted the the Yankees to play center field, in the huge outfield in yankee stadium. The played football because he couldnt hit a curve ball.

Not to me. I’m okay with it, either way.

Fuck Elway. I hold grudges and that asshole wouldn't play for the Colts (Frank Kush anyone?). In no universe is that shithead the GOAT. From Otto Graham, to Unitas and including Brady (who all of you hate almost as much as I hate that overrated POS Elway) no way is he better than any of them. It is about winning and that prick couldn't get his team over the hump until he was a shell of himself. His team won those titles despite him. Fuck that guy

If you are going to blame someone, blame the biggest asshole in Colts franchise history, Robert Irsay. He hired Kush because he like hard asses. He would have ruined Elway. He was just another bad coach in a list of bad coaches that killed player careers in Indy.

What did Jim Irsay do when he took over the team. He hired the best GM and Head Coach, to attract talent and retain them.

Btw, if you look at the draft history of the Broncos during Elways time, it was atrocious. There was one year the only draft pick to make the team was their 10th round pick.

I didn't say Jones had a better career. I said he had more arm talent.

I'm blaming that shithead Elway. You can blame the Colts if you want, they should have let Elway rot in minor league baseball hell in my opinion.

The sad thing is that the Colts GM at the Ernie Accorsi didn't make the trade. Irsay did it behind his back.

o



Bill Belichick stated that if there one quarterback in the history of professional football not named Tom Brady whom he would want engineering his team on offense, it would be ) Bert Jones.




If Bill Belichick Could Choose Any Quarterback to Lead His Team, He’d Pick .......

(By Zack Cox)

https://nesn.com/2016/11/if-bill-bel...he-would-pick/

o