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COLTS

Insider: Free agency couldn't solve all the Colts' problems

Stephen Holder
Frank Gore brings credibility to the Colts running back room.

The spending bonanza recently embarked on by the Indianapolis Colts was enough to leave the fan base gasping.

But the free-agency frenzy was not only bold, it was effective.

The Colts believe they have finally acquired that downhill, power running back (Frank Gore). They bolstered a young receiving corps with a veteran who still has the ability to make defenses pay (Andre Johnson). And the Colts even added a little oomph to their pass rush, bringing aboard a player with 85 ½ career sacks (Trent Cole).

Still, the Colts didn't solve all their ills. They need another starting safety. They could use more help on their defensive line. And we're still not entirely certain who the starting center will be (sound familiar?).

After handing out over $75 million in total contract value, with roughly $30 million in guarantees, really? How could the Colts still have perceived weaknesses?

Welcome to the reality of the NFL.

"It can't be Christmas every day," general manager Ryan Grigson said. "There's not a forever, endless river of cash flowing. We have a plan. We followed it."

Free agency, Grigson said, is about picking your spots, knowing when to say when.

"Say that safety is something that we went after," Grigson continued, "if that's your No. 1 need and you have player A, and he gets above your ceiling where you want to go financially, you've got to cut it off at this point to walk away and know that you still have that hole. Because if you just go screaming toward that one need, then you lose player B, C, D, E and F.

"You can't have everything."

For argument's sake, take the top safety on the free-agent market: New England's Devin McCourty. The Colts were not among the teams who made an earnest effort to acquire him, perhaps because they assigned a value to the position. McCourty's $47.5 million extension with the Patriots, which included a reported $28.5 million in guarantees, likely exceeded that value by many millions. Directing resources to a player like McCourty, while sensible, would have come at a cost in other areas.

The Colts did spend lavishly in some cases – giving Johnson $21 million for three years and Cole $14 million for two – but each player and each evaluation must be handled on an individual basis. No two deals, no two positions, are the same.

The Colts also considered other safeties in free agency, including former Oakland Raiders starter Tyvon Branch, ultimately passing on each. The odds of finding the next Mike Adams, who went to the Pro Bowl after signing late in the 2014 off-season, seem slim. There are a handful of candidates still on the market but, in any case, the Colts don't seem to be obsessive about the problem.

"We'll find somebody," coach Chuck Pagano said. "Somebody will separate themselves from the pack. There's still a couple bodies out there in free agency that you can look at and then the draft. Looking at the draft, there's some guys that are coming out in the draft that are going to be starting for somebody."

It's easy for a fantasy GM to construct a team that has few, if any, weaknesses. But the reality is there is no such thing in the NFL.

So, how will the Colts address the remaining holes in their roster?

For starters, the draft is going to be huge. The Colts have nine picks, including No. 29 in the first round. They must make each one count in a draft that is deep in defensive talent – especially among players in the front seven.

Defensive linemen are aplenty, and the Colts could use a few after losing starters Cory Redding and Ricky Jean Francois (although the signing of defensive end Kendall Langford is a huge mitigating factor).

But the Colts are going to access another resource to fill the holes: Their existing roster. Montori Hughes, come on down. Zach Kerr, come on down. Nose tackle Josh Chapman and safety Winston Guy – who began 2014 as a starter in Jacksonville – will also be called upon to raise their games and create competition.

"We have guys that are big athletic guys that can run, but they've got to develop and they have to come through," Pagano said. "I don't think they have a choice. None of us have a choice."

Said Grigson: "It gets back to good, old-fashioned development and playing your youth."

So, when it comes to evaluating the just-completed spending spree, it's not so much that the Colts failed to address key areas. Technically, they made a conscious decision not to do so.

How well they overcome that decision will be known in the coming months.

Follow Star reporter Stephen Holder on Twitter: @HolderStephen.