One Overlooked Departure That Will Hurt Colts Most

The Indianapolis Colts are officially in draft mode after adding 10 new names through the key wave of 2026 free agency.

However, this meant letting several staples of the team go. One of those was five-year defensive end Kwity Paye.

Initially, this appeared to be the right move, but after the Colts missed out on signing Trey Hendrickson, it now looks like a decision that could haunt the team.

Sources: Former #Colts DE Kwity Paye is signing with the #Raiders for 3 years, $48M.

Paye, the former first-round pick, started 74 games for Indy and has 30.5 career sacks. pic.twitter.com/s6aDpJzRjJ
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 9, 2026

Indy was comfortable allowing Paye and Samson Ebukam to walk in free agency since they had their eyes set on Hendrickson. At one point, this was a done deal, but ultimately, it was the Baltimore Ravens that pulled the rug out from under the whole thing.

Baltimore was set to trade for Las Vegas Raiders superstar Maxx Crosby, but after medical concerns, they removed themselves from the equation. In that wake, the Raiders took the chance to sign Paye to a three-year, $48 million deal.

Now, instead of Paye being relied upon to shoulder the load as Las Vegas' premier pass-rusher, he'll be paired with Crosby and could have the best season we've seen from the former Michigan Wolverine.

For a first-round pick, Paye wasn't that level of player for the Colts. However, he was still a solid starter who set the edge well against the run and led the team in sacks in 2024 (8.0). As stated before, letting him go didn't seem that bad.

However, that was before it was clear Hendrickson was to become a Raven.

Now, the edge room for Indianapolis is full of rotational veterans like Arden Key and Micheal Clemons, as well as a completely unproven JT Tuimoloau. These aren't good enough players around Laiatu Latu to consistently threaten any offensive line.

Now that Paye is gone, and Hendrickson is in the AFC North again, Indianapolis has to trust the NFL draft to find a solution no earlier than Round 2.

Raiders defensive end Kwity Paye (blue and white uniform) looks on before a game gets started. — Dec 7, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Indianapolis Colts defensive end Kwity Paye (51) looks on before a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Indianapolis likely didn't want to fork over the deal that Paye received with Las Vegas, which is fair considering he accumulated just 30.5 sacks and underwhelming QB pressure through 74 starts.

However, Paye is a consistently great run defender who has had glimpses of being a difference-maker. But the 2025 season saw Paye fall in run defense and log an easy-to-overlook 4.0 sacks.

This didn't help matters when considering if the Colts wanted to keep Paye past electing to take on his fifth-year option.

Regardless, Paye is better than Key or Clemons, and potentially both combined. Key is a capable rotational edge, but can't be relied upon to start.

As for Clemons, he's purely the same, but lesser in production and efficiency. He's logged more penalties (10) than career sacks (8.5).

At this point, Indianapolis can't turn to free agency for a reliable starter. Some of the top names are players like Joey Bosa, Von Miller, Haason Reddick, Leonard Floyd, and Cameron Jordan.

These are all former stars who are far past their prime and might not even win a starting position at this point in their careers.

Sure, Indy could take a swing at a defender who isn't a household name that needs an opportunity, but that isn't a risk the Colts can take with Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen's jobs on the line this year.

I was all for Paye departing after not living up to his first-round tag, but given where Lou Anarumo's defensive end position is ahead of a draft where the Colts have no Round 1 selection, he's already being missed by the franchise.

Ballard needs to pull out all the tricks he has up his sleeve, and while there was buzz about the Colts potentially trading for Jonathan Greenard from the Minnesota Vikings, head coach Kevin O'Connell has said the team is doing whatever it can to keep him.

Kevin O'Connell on if he expects Jonathan Greenard on the roster this season: "Yeah, I expect him to be part of our team. I know there's always conversations, there's conversations this week, there's conversations throughout the offseason... (1/x)
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) March 30, 2026

The Colts hope that letting Paye go wasn't the wrong move, and perhaps it won't be. However, his name on Indy's depth chart would make this edge room look far better than it does at this present moment.

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