2026 Off-Season Thread

[Racehorse]

Originally Posted by sherck

The next highest cap relief would be less than $4.000m for any other player on the roster so I am going to stop there. The rest just do not add up fast enough and are making almost JAG levels of salary (Just Another Guy).

A. All 7 of the folks we could restructure / cut / trade to add 2026 cap space are starters with most of them being quality starters (Franklin is my boardline guy on being quality).

B. 6 of 7 (all but Franklin) are in the last season of their current contract. While 2027 Colts free agency sees the Colts have a lot of cap space (currently around $175m), they then also have A LOT of holes to fill.

C. I think the Colts could get both DJ and AP signed for about $35-40m in 2026 cap space. Sure, you could structure something that their combined cap hit this season is $1m but Ballard has not done that in the past and I don't see him doing so now. Realistically, we need at least $35m in free cap space to sign both of them, IMO.

D. Of the 7 players who could deliver relief, I think that Pittman has to be the target. He is a good WR but currently has the 7th highest WR cap hit for 2026 and would still drop to the 14th highest cap hit for 2026 if traded to another team and the Colts have to eat his pro-rated signing bonus. He is not one of the 14th best WRs in the league. While it will hurt, he is expendable at that cap hit, IMO.

E. Of the rest of the list, I think Franklin is the most replaceable with a less expensive player. His is our 12th highest cap hit but I don't feel that his play is 12th best on the team.

F. Next would be Stewart. Our run defense is measurable better with him on the field but, again, while the Colts suck at drafting D-Line, I feel his production could be replaced with cheaper talent.


Trading or cutting those three guys would open up around $42m in free cap space for 2026 to add to our current $23m and allow us to sign DJ and AP while also going after a, hopefully, top tier Defensive End sack master.

One man's opinion.

Of this list, I could see Franklin as a cap casualty, and Pittman getting a restructure. If Pittman doesn't restructure, he could be a cap casualty. I would hate to see it, but it is a real possibility. No way we keep him and let Pierce walk.

I do not see us doing any cuts to Grover or Buckner. Both are too valuable, even with the age factor. We do not have replacements ready.

It is going to be an interesting off-season, where we either push all the chips in by re-signing DJ and AP, restructure the guys mentioned, and go for one solid free agent piece, or we see them blow it all up and try to get younger for the next core group. I do not see them blowing it all up after the moves made last year.