The NFL free agency legal tampering window opens at noon today, starting a major offseason for the Indianapolis Colts and general manager Chris Ballard.
Under heavy pressure to win after five consecutive seasons without a playoff berth, Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen have made quarterback Daniel Jones and receiver Alec Pierce the first two pieces that want back with a impact pass rusher next on the list.
Refresh to keep up with all the Colts moves. Here’s the latest on their offseason:
Few top pass rushers left; position of need for Colts
Pass rush is the Colts’ biggest need and they’ve signed rotational piece Arden Key. But other top targets are getting signed quickly, including: Odafe Oweh to the Commanders, Khalil Mack returning to the Chargers, Boye Mafe to the Cincinnati and Jaelen Phillips signing with the Carolina Panthers.
Trey Hendrickson, believed to be the Colts top target, remains on the market as does Bradley Chubb.
Colts add two compensatory draft picks
The Colts have officially been awarded two extra seventh-round picks by the NFL’s compensatory formula, the league announced on Monday.
The Colts now hold No. 249 and No. 254 in addition to the five picks they originally held.
Indianapolis traded its first rounder in April’s draft to the Jets, along with its 2027 first rounder, to get cornerback Sauce Gardner, and the Colts traded their sixth-round pick to the Vikings in order to get cornerback Mekhi Blackmon before the start of the season.
With that in mind, the Colts have picks in the second, third, fourth and fifth rounds, plus three in the seventh, although there is a change to the later picks that has not been revealed yet.
Colts address biggest need: Sign pass rusher Arden Key
Indianapolis has agreed to terms on a two-year deal worth up to $20 million with former Titans defensive end Arden Key, a league source confirmed to IndyStar, making Key the first outside signing of a busy free agency.
Key, who turns 30 in May, is likely more of a rotational edge rusher than a bona fide starter for a Colts team that will likely lose close to 1,500 snaps at the position with the potential departures of Kwity Paye, Samson Ebukam and Tyquan Lewis.
The veteran has spent the past three seasons as a starter in Tennessee, recording 16.5 sacks and 38 quarterback hits. Injuries limited his playing time last season. Key played more than 700 snaps in each of his first two seasons with the Titans, but he missed four games with a quadriceps injury early and missed the final game of the season due to a hip injury, limiting him to 449 snaps, four sacks and 11 quarterback hits.
IndyStar’s Gregg Doyel sees a different Chris Ballard
Alec Pierce is staying with the Colts and Michael Pittman Jr. is leaving, and it shows how fast things can change in the NFL.
How fast people can change, too.
And franchises, for that matter.
We’re watching the emergence of Pierce as an absolute star wide receiver for the Colts – their first true WR1 since Reggie Wayne – at the same time as we’re watching two more high-velocity moves:
The career makeover of Colts general manager Chris Ballard…
… and the continued renaissance of the Colts as major players on the NFL’s talent acquisition market.
Bears sign former Colt DT Neville Gallimore
The Colts have lost defensive tackle Neville Gallimore to the Chicago Bears. for two years and $12 million. Gallimore started 8 games for the Colts with 38 tackles, 4 for loss, 3.5 sacks, 3 passes defensed and six quarterback hits. With the trade for Colby Wooden, it’s not a surprise Gallimore is moving on.
Pass rusher Jaelan Phillips to Carolina Panthers
The Panthers have signed former Eagles pass rusher Jaelan Phillips for four years and $120 million according to multiple media reports. The Colts need help at defensive end and this signing takes one of the best players off the market.
Colts trade WR Michael Pittman to Pittsburgh Steelers
The Colts are dealing WR Michael Pittman to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The move will free up $24 million in salary cap. He received a three-year, $59 million deal from the Steelers.
Michael Pittman to Giants?
The Record’s Art Stapleton is floating the possibility of the Colts trading receiver Michael Pittman to the Giants with the signing of Alec Pierce. It would free up $25 million in cap space and the Colts will need to clear money to complete its current moves.
Alec Pierce returns to Colts for $29 million a year
Indianapolis has signed Pierce to a four-year deal worth $60 million in guaranteed money at signing, $84 million in total guarantees and up to $116 million overall, two league sources confirmed to IndyStar, in a blockbuster deal that shows how valuable Pierce has become.
Why there’s urgency to get a deal done with Daniel Jones
SI’s Albert Breer reports there is a “big gap” between what the Colts are offering Daniel Jones and his expectations. The Colts offer was around three years for $100.5 million, the deal Sam Darnold received last offseason with Jones’ countering with a deal worth $50 million per year.
While the Colts can wait and still match any offers with the $37.833 million transition tag on Jones, Alec Pierce has made it clear he wants a stable quarterback situation and Jones is high on that list. Getting a deal done this morning with Jones increases the odds of bringing Pierce back.
Tua Tagovailoa to be released
UPDATE: Multiple media reports now link Tagovailoa to the Falcons.
The available quarterbacks are not an attractive group — which is why the Colts tagged Jones — but, as expected, Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa will be released. He has led the NFL in completion percentage (.729, 2024), yards (4,624, 2023) and passer rating (105.5, 2022), making him a potential fit for Shane Steichen’s offense.
However, if you think Jones’ injury history is a problem, Tagovailoa’s had one full season — 2023 — missing three games last season and six in 2024, with concussions a recurring issue.
Tagovailoa would only cost the $1.3 million minimum as the Dolphins are still on the hook for more than $50 million.
$27 million a year for Alec Pierce?
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the Colts receiver Alec Pierce “appears poised to make at least $27 million per year” in free agency with the Patriots, Commanders, Raiders and Titans as the competition.
Breer reported that Pierce’s “expected price tag has already led to other teams seeking alternate paths, with Buffalo’s acquisition of D.J. Moore an example.”
That would make Pierce the 14th-highest paid receiver, according to Over The Cap: Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, D.K. Metcalf, Garrett Wilson, A.J. Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Brandon Aiyuk, Terry McLaurin, Tee Higgins, Jaylen Waddle, D.J. Moore and George Pickens. Pierce’s 1,003 receiving yards ranked 19th in the NFL last season and a new contract — and more targets — makes that salary realistic.
Fowler added to “expect negotiations between Pierce and the Colts to go down to the wire.”
Pierce told Kay Adams on the Up & Adams show Wednesday that he plans to test the free agency waters.
“At this point now, it’s like, I love Indy. I’ve loved playing there. It’s a great organization, great people in the city, just a ton of support. I know we haven’t been as good as we could be and I know that we can be,” Pierce told Adams. “But at this point, I’ve kinda earned the right to explore free agency and see what’s out there and just make a decision that’s best for my career and my family.”
That opportunity starts at noon Monday.
Quarterback Daniel Jones gets transition tag
Indianapolis used the transition tag on Jones, multiple league sources told IndyStar on Tuesday, the first time the franchise has used that tag since placing it on linebacker Tony Bennett in 1998 and the first time an NFL quarterback has received the transition tag since the Falcons used it on Jeff George in 1996.
Jones will receive a one-year tender worth $37.833 million, approximately $6 million less than the franchise tag, that allows the Colts to match any contract offered by another team if Jones were to reach free agency. If the Colts decide not to match, a team can sign Jones without sending Indianapolis the two first-round draft picks that would come if Indianapolis had placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on the quarterback.
Colts trade LB Zaire Franklin
The Colts traded Zaire Franklin to the Green Bay Packers for defensive tackle Colby Wooden, addressing multiple needs with one move. Franklin was due to count $7.005 million against the cap in 2026 and $9.005 million against the cap in 2027. Wooden’s base salary is $1.145 million in 2026; Indianapolis saves roughly $4.61 million against the cap with the move, putting the Colts in range of being back under the salary cap after the team’s move to place the transition tag on quarterback Daniel Jones briefly put the Colts over the cap.
Franklin made 125 tackles and recorded two sacks in 2025, but he has long struggled in coverage, allowing 70.3% completions and a quarterback rating of 103.1 when he was the nearest defender in coverage, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. Because of those issues, Ballard has made it clear that Indianapolis needed to get younger and faster on defense, and the linebacker position was an obvious target. The 2026 NFL Draft is deep at linebacker, offering a chance for the Colts to revamp the spot Franklin has manned since taking over the starting job in 2022.
Wooden is a young player on the rise, a player who fits a need for the Colts both now and into the future, if he establishes himself in Indianapolis. Veteran defensive tackles DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart are both still under contract, but the two players are on the wrong side of 30. Indianapolis has long needed a run-stopping defensive tackle to back up Stewart, who turns 33 in October and carries a 2026 cap hit of $14.25 million in the final year of his contract. Wooden, who turns 26 this year, can be that player.
Colts re-sign K Blake Grupe
The Colts signed placekicker Blake Grupe, who joined the team midseason and finished 21-for-21 combined on field goals and extra points, to a one-year deal, multiple league sources confirmed to IndyStar on Sunday.
Grupe was signed last season ahead of Indianapolis’ Week 14 matchup in Jacksonville and nailed all 11 of his field goals, including a perfect 4-for-4 on kicks from 50-plus and a franchise-long 60-yarder for a late-game lead in Seattle.
The move gives the team two legitimate options at placekicker on the roster, the type of good problem the franchise hasn’t typically had of late. After years of sifting through numerous options at placekicker, the Colts made a decisive move last offseason, parting ways with veteran Matt Gay two years into a four-year deal as general manager Chris Ballard put his trust in Spencer Shrader, who made his career debut in 2024 with the Colts and kicked for three different teams around the league before making his way back to Indianapolis.
Shrader, who boasts an uber-strong leg, started the 2025 season with the Colts 13-for-14 on field goals, including a long of 52 yards, but a late hit by Raiders safety Tristin McCollum in Week 5 tore the ACL and MCL in the 26-year-old’s right knee, ending his season and putting him on a long road to recovery that’s rare for kickers to face. The Colts immediately brought in Badgley, who went 10-for-11 on field goals but missed three PATs in seven games, leading to his exit, following a narrow 20-16 home loss to the Texans where the Colts were forced to attempt to score a touchdown late in part due to Badgley’s earlier missed extra point.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts free agency tracker: Pierce returning on massive contract, Pittman traded
Reporting by Nat Newell, Nathan Brown and Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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