Colts Free Agency: 4 Players Least Likely to Return

The NFL new year officially arrives this month on March 16 and with it all of the madness that is free agency.

The Indianapolis Colts are in the fortunate position to not have any critical players set to hit the market, and they are also sitting comfortably with nearly $36 million in cap space, which ranks seventh in the NFL per OverTheCap.com.

There are some important decisions to be made as to which players the Colts might want back and which they'll take a pass on. Before we dive into that, here are all of the Colts' impending free agents:

Unrestricted Free Agents: OT Eric Fisher, WR Zach Pascal, G Mark Glowinski, ED Al-Quadin Muhammad, CB Xavier Rhodes, S Andrew Sendejo, TE Mo Alie-Cox, G Chris Reed, S George Odum, OL Matt Pryor, WR T.Y. Hilton, DL Tyquan Lewis, OT Julién Davenport, ED Kemoko Turay, LB Zaire Franklin, ED Isaac Rochell, K Michael Badgley, CB T.J. Carrie, S Jahleel Addae, DT Antwaun Woods, RB Marlon Mack, LB Matthew Adams, OT Sam Tevi, QB Brett Hundley, S D.J. Swearinger, CB Brian Poole
Restricted Free Agents: DT Taylor Stallworth, WR Ashton Dulin
Exclusive Rights Free Agents: LB Skai Moore, WR Quartney Davis, DT Rob Windsor, CB Nick Nelson

The following Colts unrestricted free agents seem likely to have played their last snaps with the team.

DB T.J. Carrie

Carrie was banged up during the summer at a time when starting cornerback Xavier Rhodes was also out of the lineup. With Carrie being unable to take advantage of the opportunity, younger guys like Rock Ya-Sin and Isaiah Rodgers did. As a result, Carrie's playing time took a nosedive in 2021 in relation to 2020 when he had a big role.

In 2020, Carrie played 452 snaps on defense (40.8%) and 249 on special teams (60.6%) compared to just 142 defensive (20.6%) and 94 special teams (34.2%) in 2021. In fairness, he played in four fewer games in 2021 but the snap percentages tell the story.

Carrie will be 32 years old when the season begins, and we've seen his previous roles shrink despite injuries in the secondary presenting opportunities for playing time.

OT Julién Davenport

The Colts signed Davenport last offseason to hopefully be a safe veteran option at left tackle while they continued their search. They ultimately signed Pro Bowler Eric Fisher to be the starter, who was still recovering from an Achilles injury. Davenport wound up seeing action (278 snaps) at both left and right tackle and was largely abysmal, grading out as Pro Football Focus' 87th-ranked offensive tackle out of 88 with a grade of 45.3 (out of 100.0). In total, Davenport allowed 20 pressures on the quarterback, including 12 hurries, 4 hits, and 4 sacks.

Without the intention of sounding harsh, Davenport simply didn't meet the minimum of expectations with the Colts last year, and for that reason, it seems unlikely that the Colts would bring him back.

RB Marlon Mack

This one feels like a layup. After Mack suffered a season-ending Achilles injury at the beginning of 2020, the Colts somewhat surprisingly re-signed him to a one-year deal last offseason despite having Jonathan Taylor leading the backfield. After Mack was made a healthy scratch in Week 3, he reportedly hit the trade block but was never dealt. He ultimately was only active for six games and was unable to crack the lineup throughout the second half of the season as the Colts relied on rookie running back Deon Jackson' special teams abilities.

Now two years removed from his Achilles injury, Mack should be as good as he's going to get, physically. Arguably his best running attributes are his patience and vision regardless, so other teams could have some interest in the 26-year-old tailback who ran for over 1,000 yards in 2019.

CB Xavier Rhodes

Like Mack, many people expected Rhodes to be out the door when free agency arrived last offseason despite a solid season, but he too was re-signed to a one-year deal. However, he struggled through a calf injury throughout 2021 and wasn't able to perform at the same level he did the year prior. Entering the 2022 season at 32 years old, the Colts have much younger options to rely on in Ya-Sin and Rodgers. There are also younger, cheaper options who are set to hit the free-agent market this spring as well as an intriguing draft class.

Do you expect any of these players back in 2022? Drop your thoughts below in the comment section!

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