The Indianapolis Colts may have missed the playoffs last season, but they don’t exactly have a bad team going into the 2024 season.
They have a young quarterback they’re high on in Anthony Richardson, whose rookie year in 2023 was cut short by a shoulder injury. Jonathan Taylor, when healthy, is one of the league’s top three to five running backs, and Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs make up a young and decent wide receiver duo.
But by no means do they have a Super Bowl-caliber roster, and there seems to be a better chance of a hurricane slamming into the state of Indiana than of the Colts finishing first in the AFC South this coming season.
For a minute, Minnesota Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson was thought to be available for the right package in a trade, and the Colts reportedly made an effort to land him.
A year or two ago, a number of quarterbacks around the NFL were getting lucrative contract extensions. This seems to be the offseason for wide receivers to break the bank.
Jefferson came into this offseason looking for a big extension, and for good reason. He’s arguably the best in the business at his position, and he plays arguably the most important position in the sport outside of quarterback.
Ultimately, he agreed to a $140 million, four-year deal last Monday, which ended the hopes several teams had of landing the 24-year-old three-time Pro Bowler and 2022 Offensive Player of the Year.
Jefferson was slowed last year by a hamstring injury that limited him to 10 games, but he still put up 1,074 yards and five touchdowns.
The year before, he was at an NFL-high 1,809 receiving yards, and there was talk going into 2023 that he was poised to break the single-season record in that category and possibly even break the 2,000-yard barrier.
Had the Colts actually acquired him, he would’ve given them the equivalent of a nuclear-grade weapon while equipping them to be very competitive should Richardson develop into a legitimate franchise QB.
Instead, Justin Jefferson will remain with the Vikings, who have a promising young QB of their own in J.J. McCarthy, a player they took with the No. 10 pick in April’s draft.
As a result, the Indianapolis Colts remain in its familiar position of being too good to get a high draft pick but not good enough to make the playoffs and do some real damage there.
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