I won’t lie, this is the 3rd time this week that I have attempted to write an article about the Colts options for free agency. They have included the usual suspects of Jones and Pierce, but so have most pieces that have been written, so I am going to propose something that has less than a 5% chance of happening.
There are two main schools of though about the QB position. The largest group wants/expects Daniel Jones to be under center for the Colts for a varying amount of years. It is hard for many, including myself, to unsee the good that he displayed for the first half of last year. This group believes that a contract will be signed, well in advance of the end of free agency, or that he will return on the tag salary.
A smaller group believes that Richardson is still the long term answer to the Colts QB purgatory. The group believes that Jones will price himself out of what we want to pay, or that Ballard and Steichen will change course and decide not start a season with an injured QB. This group has seen enough of those glimpses of AR’s elevated play to determine that reps are all that he needs to put himself in that conversation of “QBs you can win a title with”. With a little luck on his health front, they could be right.
A group that is mostly laying in the weeds, ready for their “Told you so” opportunity, are those supporting giving the reigns to Riley Leonard. It is a small, less vocal group, but includes those who saw enough of his play in relief of Jones to believe that starting over, in house, is the best long term solution. I could almost squint and find myself in that group, but I still cringe at how he was passed over for guy who hadn’t laced them up in five years. It is hard to deny that he looked the part of a rookie during his closeup.
There were the highs and lows that come with being a rookie. The notion of never giving up on a play can be one of the last things that a QB learns, but it would need to be a focus before he could have the long-term keys. In a first full season, he would fumble more than you hoped, because he held onto the ball too long while waiting for someone to become open. He also would throw some unexplainable interceptions, because he misread the defense. He would play with some passion, which I also do not believe that we have seen since Luck.
I was watching a show last night on ESPN called This Is Football! The host asked Jeremiyah Love, “Who was the most badass person you have played with?” His answer was Riley Leonard. He and the host exchanged glowing comments, and Love’s reason for his selection was because he always showed up. I think “showing up” at Notre Dame says a lot about a players willingness to take on all that is thrown his way. You only had to watch the Championship Game against Ohio State to see he definitely has some moxie. Here is a link to that interview. You can skip ahead to the 10 minute mark if you only want to hear about Leonard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTWDJ6uRXhI
So, what if you somehow convince yourself that Leonard is the long term answer? Do you just not offer Jones a contract? I mean it is around 40 million that you expected to spend. I know that sign and trades are not an NFL thing, but what if it is player for player? You are eating dead cap space, but getting a player back that wouldn’t count against the cap? Feel free to call me out if that is not possible. If it is at all possible, bring Jonathan Greenard back to the AFC South and return Jones to the Vikes. A guy can dream?
While you are getting rid of the competition, call the Dolphins and offer AR and a 5th, for one of their three 3rd round picks. That clears another 5 million. In the mean time, tell Rivers that the minute his son’s team is eliminated, he has a job as “Insert title here”. He and Leonard are cut from the same cloth and if Leonard could see what Rivers sees, he’d be all the Colts needed in a franchise QB.
I know that going with Leonard is barely an option. You have a couple of guys who have to win to keep their jobs, so trusting a rookie is nearly suicidal for them. However, what if it worked? Say that Riley gets you into the playoffs and that after an uneven start he looks Bo Nixish by the end of his first full season? He and Steichen look to be in lock step and Rivers says he will stay on, as long as Steichen is the coach? The money you saved on the QB position allowed you address the pass rush and the draft produced immediate help at the LB position. Now you have done what you could not do with AR by developing a franchise QB and given Lou everything he needs to make the defense a strength.
Would that be more worthy of an extension than any other output?